The Tea Gardens-Hawks Nest Bridge, also known as the Singing Bridge, crosses the Myall River

Myall River

The Myall River is a river on the mid-North Coast of the Australian state of New South Wales that empties into Port Stephens, near its mouth with the Tasman Sea.As well as flowing into the Myall Lakes, a number of important settlements exist on the river:...

 connecting the two townships of Tea Gardens

Tea Gardens, New South Wales

Tea Gardens is a locality in the Great Lakes Council Local Government Area, located near the southern extremity of the Mid North Coast and the northern extremity of the Hunter Region in New South Wales, Australia....

 and Hawks Nest

Hawks Nest, New South Wales

Hawks Nest is a suburb of the Great Lakes Council Local Government Area in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia, located north of Port Stephens between the Tasman Sea and the Myall River...

 in the Great Lakes Council, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It got its name from the musical sounds the bridge railings generate during strong south-westerly winds causing the bridge to act as a wind harp

Aeolian harp

An aeolian harp is a musical instrument that is "played" by the wind. It is named for Aeolus, the ancient Greek god of the wind. The traditional aeolian harp is essentially a wooden box including a sounding board, with strings stretched lengthwise across two bridges...

.

History

About 1928, a ferry service started carrying passengers and, later, vehicles between the two townships across the Myall River. In peak holiday periods, however, the length of queues reached unacceptable levels of up to six hours waiting time, creating demand for a bridge. The Tea Gardens-Hawks Nest Bridge was completed and opened by the New South Wales Minister for Public Works on 6 April 1974. The building cost of the bridge was A$

Australian dollar

The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...

1.2 million. The bridge was placed immediately downstream of the ferry crossing and then replaced the ferry service.

Details

The Singing Bridge is a girder bridge

Girder bridge

A girder bridge, in general, is a bridge built of girders placed on bridge abutments and foundation piers. In turn, a bridge deck is built on top of the girders in order to carry traffic. There are several different subtypes of girder bridges:...

 made of prestressed concrete

Prestressed concrete

Prestressed concrete is a method for overcoming concrete's natural weakness in tension. It can be used to produce beams, floors or bridges with a longer span than is practical with ordinary reinforced concrete...

 and normal reinforced concrete

Reinforced concrete

Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...

 with a total length of 304.3 metres (998 ft). It has 7 spans

Span (architecture)

Span is the distance between two intermediate supports for a structure, e.g. a beam or a bridge.A span can be closed by a solid beam or of a rope...

 of 35.3 metres (116 ft) length and two spans of 28.3 metres (93 ft) length. It carries a two-lane road 7.3 metres (24 ft) wide and two pedestrian walkways

Sidewalk

A sidewalk, or pavement, footpath, footway, and sometimes platform, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb...

 1.5 metres (5 ft) wide. The bridge has a clearance of 10.6 m (34.8 ft) at high water.

Located at the northeastern end of the bridge is the Jean Shaw Koala Reserve, which is part of a wildlife corridor to the Myall Lakes

Myall Lakes

The Myall Lakes are a series of fresh water lakes on the mid-north coast of New South Wales, Australia in Great Lakes Council. The lakes are adjacent to the coast about north of Sydney....

, and koala

Koala

The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....

s have been recorded crossing the bridge at night.