Albert Bridge, Brisbane

thumb|Original Albert Bridge, looking south to Chelmer

thumb|right|250px|Original Albert Bridge (destroyed in the [[1893 Brisbane flood)]]

Albert Bridge is a heritage-listed railway bridge of steel truss design crossing the Brisbane River between Indooroopilly and Chelmer in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Henry Charles Stanley and built from 1894 to 1895 by John McCormick & Son as a replacement for an earlier bridge lost to flooding in 1893. Both bridges were named in honour of the Prince of Wales, Prince Albert. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.

The Albert Bridge links Indooroopilly and Chelmer railway station. The structure consists of two steel spans supported by masonry abutments and a central concrete pier that is encased in an iron caisson. A footway was provided on the upstream side.

History

The first Albert Bridge on the site was completed in June 1876 and enabled the Main Line railway from Grandchester to Ipswich to be extended to reach Brisbane itself. In the early days of settlement, the Brisbane River at Indooroopilly provided an obstacle to the construction of a railway between Brisbane and the mining centre of Ipswich. At this time, a river boat service linked the two centres. The completion of the first Albert Bridge enabled the Ipswich railway line to open in 1875. The bridge facilitated the mass transportation of goods between Ipswich and Brisbane, which previously was only possible through shipping. The first bridge was destroyed in the 1893 flood. In the meantime, ferries were used to transport people and goods across the busy river. This, however, led to the capsize of the ferry Pearl disaster in 1896 with the loss of more than 40 lives.

The second and current Albert Bridge was built in 1895. It was designed by Henry Charles Stanley, Queensland's Chief Engineer of Railways from 1891 to 1901 and is considered his major work.

The Albert Bridge remains one of Australia's largest truss bridges. At the time of its completion, as a metal truss bridge it was second only to the first Hawkesbury rail bridge (1889) in span length. The Albert Bridge is still Australia's third longest span metal truss bridge, after Brisbane's Story Bridge (1940) (Story Bridge) and the second Hawkesbury rail bridge (1945).