View source for Balclutha Road Bridge

{{Short description|Bridge in Balclutha, Otago, New Zealand}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=June 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox bridge
| bridge_name      = Balclutha Road Bridge
| native_name      = 
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| image            = BalcluthaBridgeNov202024 01.jpg
| image_size       = 300px
| alt              = 
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| other_name       = 
| carries          = Motor vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists
| crosses          = [[Clutha River]]
| locale           = [[Balclutha, New Zealand|Balclutha]], [[Otago]], New Zealand
| maint            = [[NZ Transport Agency]]
| id               = 
| designer         = 
| design           = 
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| pierswater       = 
| length           = {{convert|244.1|m}}
| width            = 
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| mainspan         = 
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| below            = 
| traffic          = 
| builder          = 
| begin            = 1933
| complete         = 1935
| open             = 
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|extra             = {{designation list|embed=yes|designation1=NZ Category I|designation1_number=5180|designation1_date=13-Dec-1990}}
}}
[[File:Balclutha City.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Balclutha Road Bridge is visible in the centre of this view looking south across Balclutha.]]
The '''Balclutha Road Bridge''', which spans the [[Clutha River]] in [[Balclutha, New Zealand|Balclutha]], [[South Otago]], New Zealand, is one of the best-known road bridges in New Zealand's [[South Island]]. The bridge is often simply known as "The Clutha Bridge", despite the fact that there are numerous bridges across the country's second longest river.

Built between 1933 and 1935, this [[bowstring bridge]] was designed by W. L. Newnham to be earthquake and flood resistant, thereby safeguarding it against the two most common natural disasters to occur in southern New Zealand.

The bridge is built from reinforced concrete, with six parabolic curved spans, each of 36.6 metres in length, and a total bridge length of 244.1 metres. A carriageway of 6.7 metres width is flanked on either side by a footpath of 1.4 metres; its total width is 11.8 metres. The bridge carries the South Island's principal highway, [[New Zealand State Highway 1|State Highway 1]] on its route between [[Dunedin]] and [[Invercargill]].

The bridge is the third road bridge to stand at or close to this spot. The first, constructed in 1868, was destroyed in massive floods ten years later when a bridge situated upstream at [[Beaumont, New Zealand|Beaumont]] was swept downriver and collided with it. A second bridge was constructed in 1881, but was unsuitable for the needs of motorised transport and was eventually replaced by the current structure.

On 13 December 1990 the Balclutha Road Bridge was classified as a Category I Historic Place by the [[Heritage New Zealand|New Zealand Historic Places Trust]].<ref>{{NZHPT|5180|Balclutha Bridge|21 September 2008}}</ref>

Another bridge, the Balclutha Rail Bridge, stands several hundred metres downstream.

== References ==
{{commons category|Balclutha Bridge}}
{{reflist}}

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[[Category:Bridges completed in 1935]]
[[Category:Bridges over the Clutha River / Mata-Au]]
[[Category:Concrete bridges in New Zealand]]
[[Category:Southern Scenic Route]]
[[Category:Tied arch bridges]]
[[Category:Heritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in Otago]]
[[Category:Balclutha, New Zealand]]
[[Category:State Highway 1 (New Zealand)]]
[[Category:1930s architecture in New Zealand]]