Historical information

The Snowy River Bridge, Princes Freeway, Orbost, Victoria was opened by the Hon. J A Rafferty, Minister for Transport, 25 November 1976. ‘The bridge was built at a cost of A$2.4 million and is the first of four bridges to be built as part of the 8.4 kilometre freeway bypass of Orbost. Construction of the bridges commenced in January 1975, with an expectation to open the bridge across the Snowy River as soon as possible. Less than two years later, on 25 November 1976, the bridge across the Snowy River was opened to traffic, allowing the old bridge to be demolished. The remainder of the Orbost Bypass, both the floodplain crossings and the eastern section around the township itself, was declared ‘Princes Freeway’.
The newspaper article was written by David Jellie as part of the centenary celebrations of Vic Roads/Country Roads on 4.9.2013.
David Jellie was the project engineer for the Snowy River Crossing Project.

Significance

This book and article contain historical information and details about the construction of the bridges on the Orbost section of the Princes Freeway.

Physical description

2117.1 isaA thin paperbook book which contains a map, history and construction details of the Princes Freeway at Orbost. It has a program for the opening ceremony of the snowy River Bridge in 1976.
2117.2 is an article from the snowy River Mail on the history of the highway. It is dated 4.9.2013.

Inscriptions & markings

In pencil - 20c