constructed with a main span that was supported by steel cables and hanger rods. The deck was stiffened by an undertruss which was pin connected at the centre of the span. The steel cables were supported on sandstone towers and anchored into bedrock at each end of the gorge. The wooden deck contained two traffic lanes plus two tram tracks and pedestrian footways. Following taking ownership of Northbridge Bridge in 1935, the then Department of Main Roads carried out inspections of the bridge which revealed that significant corrosion was occurring in the steelwork and cables. It was decided to replace the suspension bridge with a reinforced concrete arch with the original sandstone towers retained. The bridge was re-opened to traffic in 1939. Hampden Bridge at Kangaroo Valley was the second suspension bridge to be built in NSW and is now the only surviving suspension road bridge from the Nineteenth Century. It replaced a previous timber truss bridge built in 1879. The new bridge was designed by Ernest Macartney De Burgh. It is noteworthy that De Burgh, in 1894 designed a suspension pedestrian bridge at the village of Tuena, NSW. Whilst this bridge was of a differing design, it is likely that De Burgh had incorporated some of design calculations into the development of the design of Hampden Bridge. Hampden Bridge was opened in 1898. History of the Hampden Bridge Design and construction Design for the new suspension bridge to replace the deteriorating timber bridge began when the Department of Public Works Engineer, Ernest de Burgh visited the site on 21 April 1895 to survey the site for the new bridge. De Burgh's design for the bridge included stone towers quarried on site to support steel cables, steel hangers and timber decking with two stiffening trusses formed by the timber and steel railing of the bridge. De Burgh in the design of the stiffening trusses adopted the same design he had used on 20 freestanding timber truss bridges that were built between 1900 and 1905, for example Landsdowne Bridge over Mulwaree Ponds. An article titled A Magnificent Bridge - The New Structure over Kangaroo River appeared in The Kangaroo Valley Times in April 1896 announcing the imminent construction of the new bridge to be upstream of the previous bridge. The article also included a detailed description of the new bridge, including the following extract: "The new bridge is to be constructed