on the suspension principle, the spans being supports of ends of cables being about . To carry the cables there will be erected on each side of the river a pair of towers of sandstone masonry, produced from the immediate vicinity of the bridge. The actual length of the bridge will be about from pilaster to pilaster, and as the approaches measures about , the total length of bridge and approaches will be ." The company Loveridge & Hudson were engaged as the builders for the new bridge. Loveridge & Hudson had previously worked on a number of significant projects in Sydney, including modifications to the Customs House at Circular Quay and the renowned High Victorian architectural style Great Synagogue, Elizabeth Street, Sydney. The first milestone celebrated in the construction period was on 30 May 1896 when the keystone to the southern end pier was laid by Florence Comer whose family had a number of associations with the Kangaroo Valley region. The keystone to the northern end pier was then laid less than 4 months later on 3 September 1896 by Barrengarry businessman Israel Karnofsky. Construction progressed into the second half of 1896 with the completion of one abutment, partial completion of the other abutment; all masonry work, parapets and excavations undertaken for the placement of the concrete thrust blocks. However, a significant setback was the erection of the wire cables. New wire cables had to be sought from London, UK as the previously acquired cables were not satisfactory. It was not until July 1897 that first of the wire cables could be installed on the bridge. Without any more major setbacks, the construction of the bridge was progressed leading to its opening to traffic in February 1898. On 2 February 1898, the Hampden Bridge was declared open to traffic by valley resident John King who also opened the former timber truss bridge. Leading up to the official opening, a number of tasks were identified as part of the "clean up" including the removal of the old timber bridge. However, this was not required as on 12 February 1898, the largest flood since 1870 () hit the region with a flood peak of resulting in the bridge breaking up and being washed downstream. Importantly, the new bridge was constructed higher than the previous bridge. The official opening took place on 19 May 1898. The opening ceremony was performed by the