"Rainbow" Bridge, Melbourne

This bridge is correctly known by the rather prosaic title of "River Yarra Pedestrian Bridge", but is more popularly referred to as the "Rainbow" bridge on account of the arch over the central span. Despite its space-age appearance, the bridge is in fact 17 years old - built by Cox Carmichael Whitford in 1989. This interesting bridge links Flinders Street Station with the Southgate Centre on the Southbank. The bridge crosses the river diagonally, reaching the south side somewhat downstream. Each of the three spans is offset from the other. The central span rises to quite a pronounced crest, and is spanned by the central arch which is aligned obliquely to the deck. A cafe nestles under the deck adjacent to the southern pier. Incidentally, a Google search revealed that "crossing the Rainbow Bridge" is a euphemism amongst pet-owners for the death of a favoured pooch or moggie.

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General view looking downstream	The central span and arch. Note the pronounced crest	The arch looking north. Flinders Street Station in the background	Looking south. Shows how the arch is angled relative to the deck.	Under the arch, looking south
Arch against the skyline	End-on view of the arch looking north	Looking north, showing the cafe adjoining the south pier	Joan, Mike and Gill on the bridge	The south end of the deck
Cafe adjoining the south pier	View from below deck	Cyclists on the bridge

 

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