Walter Taylor Bridge

Can you imagine living inside a bridge pylon? Walk around the Walter Taylor Bridge, a bridge of national significance, and take a special peek inside the bridge pylon.  The Walter Taylor Bridge spans the Brisbane River from Indooroopilly to Chelmer and remains the longest span suspension bridge in Australia.

Walter Taylor, engineer, architect, inventor and Graceville resident, envisaged the construction of a bridge across the river and sought to make it a reality. Taylor secured a franchise to erect a private toll bridge between Indooroopilly and Chelmer. Following a successful campaign to raise money to start the project, approval was given by the government in 1931 under the newly passed Tolls on Privately Constructed Road Traffic Facilities Act (1931).

The design is of a rare type developed by American engineer D B Steinman and first used at Florianopolis, Brazil in 1926. The deck is suspended from two sets of steel cables, each comprising twelve wire ropes, saddled on concrete towers at either end and anchored in rock and concrete. Each of the mild steel saddles is positioned 35.6m above the high-water mark, and the span between the towers is 183m. The total weight of cable suspended across the river is 145.5 tonnes. Both towers contain residential accommodation, with walls up to 1.7m thick.

On 4 January 1936, Walter Taylor drove the first vehicle across the bridge, which was opened officially on 14 February 1936. It remained a toll bridge until handed over to the Brisbane City Council in 1965.  In 2013 Brisbane City Council opened the heritage listed Walter Taylor Bridge at Indooroopilly for public viewing and tours. Tours of the pylon and bridge precinct are coordinated by Brisbane Greeters (a local volunteer greeters program, which is a member of the International Greeters Association).