<div class="description">
<p>The main bridge shown in the photograph was built between 1873 and 1878 at a cost of 130, 376 pounds ($260,752).  It is 1980 feet (603.7 metres) long and 27 feet (8.2 metres) wide.  It has five 120 foot (36.6 metres) spans across the river and there are 23 spans across the swamplands, each 60 feet (18.3 metres) long.  The bridge stands 33 feet (10.1 metres) above the water on piers that are sunk 85 feet (25.9 metres) into the river bed.  The car approaching the bridge is possibly a 1936 Buick or a 1937 Chevrolet.  The railway bridge shown to the left of the main bridge was opened in November 1925.
It is difficult to date this photograph but characteristics common to the 14,000 series of Glass Negatives photographs suggest that they were taken in the 1950s.
</p><p>Sources:
Murray Bridge and District Historical Society, Across the Mighty Murray, (1988), Murray Bridge
D.C. Dix, Murray Bridge, South Australia 1924-1974: A Royal Jubilee, (1974), Corporation of Murray Bridge and District Historical Society, Murray Bridge
Murray Bridge: Past, Present and Future, (1973), Compiled by the Corporation of the Town of Murray Bridge
Company file: M:\COMMUNITY HISTORY UNIT\Coffee Table Book\Crossing the River
</p>
Revised by J. Davis, 7 May 2008.</div>
<div class="fn value">
State Government Photographer</div>
The History Trust of South Australian,  South Australian Government <br> Photo <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://data.history.sa.gov.au/sagpc/media/preview/15649?maxsize=1000">[1]</a> <br> Object record <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://data.history.sa.gov.au/sagpc/getitem/15649">[2]</a>