The reconstruction of the historic Thomas James Bridge near Lower Macdonald has received the prestigious Judges’ Excellence Award in Heritage at the 2026 IPWEA NSW & ACT Engineering Awards.

The award was accepted by Hawkesbury City Council Acting General Manager Will Barton at the 2026 State Conference in April.

Built by convicts in the 1830s, Thomas James Bridge is recognised as the oldest in-use vehicle bridge on mainland Australia. The bridge suffered significant damage during the devastating floods and storm events of 2022, including the near-total collapse of the eight-metre-high sandstone retaining walls supporting the bridge abutments.

Completed in November 2025, the extensive two-year restoration project required a specialised engineering solution developed in close consultation with heritage experts. The work included excavating the site down to bedrock to install new steel and concrete footings, along with improved drainage systems designed to better withstand future flooding and severe weather events.

The bridge’s hand-cut sandstone retaining wall was carefully dismantled, with every block individually numbered and its original position recorded before being placed into storage. Once restoration works were completed, the wall was painstakingly rebuilt using the original sandstone blocks. The timber bridge deck was also reinstated to preserve the site’s historic appearance and significance.

Mr Barton praised Council staff, delivery partner Delaney Civil and the Macdonald Valley community for their support throughout the project.

“This is an incredible achievement and a testament to the hard work of the many people involved in rebuilding Thomas James Bridge, which provides not only an important connection for the Macdonald Valley community, but also an important link to our past,” Mr Barton said.

“We met with the disaster-impacted community on their terms, keeping them at the centre of our decision-making and advocacy. We managed this complex and valuable project in-house, and everyone involved should be exceptionally proud.”

Hawkesbury City Council managed the $23.5 million project, funded through Federal and State Government infrastructure recovery programs.

History of the Bridge and Its Namesake

Thomas James Bridge, also known as Settlers Road Bridge, is one of only eight surviving bridges on the historic Great North Road, which originally featured 22 bridges.

The single-span timber bridge deck is supported by massive stone abutments, constructed using sandstone quarried from the surrounding hillside. Evidence of the original quarrying and stone-splitting work can still be seen near the gully today. All stone was quarried, cut and moved into place by hand, forming a 16.3-metre channel along the creek banks.

The bridge was built under the supervision of Percy Simpson, a surveyor, engineer and administrator who played a key role in the design and construction of the Great North Road.

Thomas James, a ticket-of-leave convict, directly supervised the No. 25 Road Party responsible for building the bridge. He arrived in NSW aboard the Recovery in December 1819 at the age of 24, after being sentenced to life imprisonment for an unknown crime.

By 1824, James was working with the Bathurst Road Party stationed at Richmond before transferring to the No. 25 Road Party at Wisemans Ferry, where the bridge was constructed. By 1837, he was living in Penrith and, in 1842, he received a conditional pardon.