History
The original Ryde Bridge was opened on 7 December 1935 by the Premier of New South Wales, Bertram Stevens, accompanied by the Mayor of Ryde.
The original bridge is a lift bridge, which was required to allow shipping to pass to the State Timber Yard then located on the southern bank of the Parramatta river, just west of the bridge. However the lifting mechanism was removed in the late 20th Century and it has not been opened since.
The bridge was paid for by the Ryde Council (with the assistance of a grant from the New South Wales Government). The bridge carried a toll for 13 years. At the end of this period the bridge was paid for and the toll was removed. Ownership was transferred to the Department of Main Roads.
An additional bridge was constructed adjacent to the east side of this bridge to carry southbound traffic, leaving the original bridge for northbound traffic only. It was officially opened by NSW Premier Nick Greiner and Federal Minister For Transport Ralph Willis, on 25 November 1988.
Before the original bridge was constructed, the Parramatta River was crossed in this area by a vehicular punt, just downstream of the Meadowbank Railway bridge. The southern ramp still exists near the southern end of the railway bridge, however the northern ramp has been covered over by Meadowbank ferry wharf.
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