The Bodie Creek Suspension Bridge in the Falkland Islands is one of the southernmost suspension bridges in the world. It was built in 1925, from a kit fabricated in England by David Rowell & Co., in order to shorten the distance sheep needed to be driven from southern Lafonia to the shearing sheds in Goose Green.
Background
A bridge across Bodie Creek was first proposed in 1922 as part of an effort to centralise the Falkland Islands Company (FIC) Lafonia sheep farming operations at Goose Green which consolidated the shearing of flocks from nearby farms including Darwin and Walker Creek.
Construction
The bridge was purchased by the FIC for £2,281 () from David Rowell & Co, London. The structure was shipped, in kit form, to the islands aboard the Pacific Steam Navigation Company's vessel SS Ballena. The bridge was erected by engineer Charles P. Peters assisted by a stone mason/foreman and a gang of around 14 navvies. The approach roads were complete by October 1925, allowing the bridge to open in time for the start of the sheep shearing season.
Structure today
The bridge spans . Its principal parts are an roadway (deck) suspended from four primary thick steel cables supported by two high towers at the ends of the span. It is deteriorating and in need of restoration. The Falklands Island Museum and National Trust has raised concerns that the structure may be lost. It is one of the few engineered bridges in the Falklands, where fords and improvised structures are more common. The structure is one of the southernmost suspension bridges.