For the first time in almost a century, a vital component of Narooma Bridge’s opening span has been removed and refurbished as part of essential maintenance to preserve the historic crossing for future generations.

Narooma Bridge is a steel truss bridge with an opening span, known as a bascule span, carrying the Princes Highway over the Wagonga River.

Built in 1931, it is the last operational Strauss bascule bridge in NSW and remains an important transport link for the Narooma community and visitors to the Far South Coast.

Despite being 95 years old, the bridge’s bascule machinery remains in good condition. While an electric motor was added in 1996, many of the original components have remained largely unchanged.

Transport for NSW recently completed a major refurbishment of the bridge’s worm drive, a nearly three tonne component that plays a critical role in raising and lowering the opening span.

The work required extensive planning because structural elements of the bridge had to be temporarily removed to provide enough clearance to extract the machinery.

The bridge was closed for about two hours in June while crews removed support beams and carefully lifted the worm drive from the structure.

It was lowered onto a barge and transported to a workshop in Bega, where Transport for NSW staff worked with a specialist contractor to inspect, clean and refurbish the mechanism and manufacture replacement parts.

The worm drive was successfully reinstalled during a shorter bridge closure in late July.

The refurbishment included improved lubrication, replacement of worn components, electrical upgrades and operational testing.

The mechanism was restored in keeping with its original design, while incorporating modern seals to reduce the environmental risk of oil leakage. A new electric drive and sealed input gearbox were also installed to improve reliability.

The bridge and its machinery have significant heritage value. The bascule pier, machinery, span and counterweight are considered to be of exceptional heritage significance because Narooma Bridge is an exceptionally rare surviving example of the Strauss bascule design used in NSW between 1927 and 1936.

Further strengthening and repainting work is planned to begin on Narooma Bridge in 2027, with Transport for NSW to keep the community updated as planning progresses.

Member for Bega Dr Michael Holland said:

“Narooma Bridge is much more than a piece of infrastructure — it is part of the fabric and history of Narooma and the Far South Coast.

“It’s remarkable to think that machinery installed almost a century ago is still doing the job it was designed to do. This refurbishment is a great example of utilising machinery from the past while incorporating modern expertise and technology to ensure the bridge remains safe, reliable and operational.

“For the community, it means we are making sure Narooma Bridge can continue to serve locals, visitors and the freight and transport that rely on this vital crossing for many years to come.

“It is a bridge built to last, and this work will help ensure it continues to do just that.”

Fun fact:

The opening of the bridge on 20 June 1931 was a major public event for Narooma and the far south coast and around 1800 people were present to witness it. Before the proceedings could start, the president of Eurobodalla Shire Council at the time threw a dart to decide who would have the privilege of being the first person to walk across the bridge.