Cameron Bridge

DJI_0087.JPG

The former Cameron Bridge was a timber Dare Truss bridge over the Rouchel Brook on Rouchel Road just prior to the village of Rouchel. It was opened on 31 August 1930. Due to the ongoing deterioration in its condition Council imposed a 12 tonne load limit on the bridge on 20 November 2017 and installed a temporary low level structure adjacent to the bridge.

The bridge was named Cameron Bridge after Mr William Cameron (1877— 1931) who was born at Rouchel Brook and went on to have a political career, being a member of the NSW Legislative Assembly from 1918 to 1931 representing both Upper Hunter and Maitland over this time.

Upper Hunter Shire Council has recently been successful in securing funding for the replacement of the bridge with a concrete bridge that will have a life of 100 years. The new bridge was officially opened on November 2, 2022. 

Cameron-Bridge-052.jpg

The Dare Truss

From  2018, 17 bridges remained of about 40 Dare Truss timber bridges built between 1905 and 1936. The design intent was to combine the best aspects of the de Burgh and Allan trusses, while avoiding their primary problems. With the Allan Truss, this was the tendency for the timber bottom chords to fail, while the expensive metal fabrication of the de Burgh Truss was a key problem arising from the Pratt Truss configuration and pinned connections. Of the five NSW truss types, the Dare Truss has the simplest geometry both overall and in its members, and also allows the easiest replacement of timbers.