Current Use
Today the bridge's significance as a road route to and from the Blue Mountains is diminished. The M4 Western Motorway has replaced the Great Western Highway as the main arterial route, crossing the Nepean River at Regentville. The M4 and the Great Western Highway join/separate at Lapstone Hill.
The bridge maintains its significance as a local tourist attraction and a centrepiece to sporting events along the Nepean River, as well as continuing to serve as vital link between the suburbs west of the Nepean, such as Emu Plains, and the major suburban centre of Penrith. The 1907 railway bridge still takes the Main Western and Blue Mountains railway lines over the river.
An undivided pedestrian pathway approximately 1.3 metres (4 ft 3 in) is located adjacent to the roadway. Following community advocacy, in 2010, Roads and Maritime Services commenced a feasibility study into a shared pedestrian/cyclist pathway over the bridge.
Read more about this topic: Victoria Bridge (Penrith)
Famous quotes containing the word current:
“Gradually the village murmur subsided, and we seemed to be embarked on the placid current of our dreams, floating from past to future as silently as one awakes to fresh morning or evening thoughts.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“A reaction: a boat which is going against the current but which does not prevent the river from flowing on.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)