The Murray River has been a significant barrier to land-based travel and trade. This article lists and briefly describes all of the recognised crossing points. Many of these had also developed as ports for transport of goods along the Murray. Now almost every significant town along the river has a bridge or ferry nearby.
The crossings are listed in order starting from the Murray Mouth and proceeding upstream.
South Australia
Due to the wide crossing, high clearance required to allow boats to pass even during floods, and relatively low traffic requirements in South Australia, there are very few bridges across the Murray River in South Australia. Most crossings are cable ferries operated (without tolls) by the South Australian Department of Transport. These ferries are known locally as punts, presumably as the original ferries were punts before the cable ferries replaced them to provide for heavier loads and greater safety. The bridges are also toll-free.
- There are access roads for maintenance etc. across the barrages between islands near the Murray mouth. These are not accessable to the public, but are used by the landholders on Mundoo and Ewe Islands.
- Goolwa to Hindmarsh Island bridge - The controversial bridge replaced a ferry in March 2001.
- There is a ferry across the channel between Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert near Narrung
- Wellington - Ferry
- Tailem Bend/Jervois - ferry
- Swanport Bridge on the Princes Highway at the end of the South Eastern Freeway - 1979
- Murray Bridge rail (1927) and road 1879 bridges
- Mannum two parallel ferries
- Purnong ferry - this is the narrowest crossing in South Australia
- Walker Flat ferry
- Swan Reach ferry
- Blanchetown bridge
- The original bridge was constructed in 1963 on the Sturt Highway. Prior to that, there had been a ferry crossing since 1869. It was the first major prestressed concrete highway bridge in South Australia. In the 1990s it was found to not be structurally sound enough to safely carry B-double trucks. Until a new bridge could be built, these were diverted from near Monash via Morgan and Eudunda to rejoin the highway at Gawler, thus travelling further but avoiding the Kingston and Blanchetown bridges.
- The replacement bridge was completed in November 1998
- Morgan ferry
- Cadell ferry
- Waikerie ferry
- Kingston on Murray a bridge replaced a ferry (early 1970s?)
- Berri a bridge replaced two ferries - 1997
- Lyrup ferry
- Paringa /Renmark liftspan bridge (1926) - one lane of traffic each way with pedestrian/bike path in the middle on a former railway alignment.
As the ferries are registered as boats, each one has a name, usually named after a waterbird. As of April 2005, some of the ferry names are:
The river forms the border between these two states and former colonies, so in many cases there is a town on each side of the river. If two towns are named in this list, the Victorian one is first for clarity and consistency.
Most of the bridges downstream of Echuca are liftspan bridges to enable paddlesteamer traffic to pass underneath even in times of high water flow.
The Hume, Newell and Sturt Highway bridges are owned and managed by the Federal Government. The others are the responsibility of New South Wales and Victoria.
- Merbein /Curlwaa Abbotsford Bridge 1928 235m long, single lane lift bridge
- Mildura George Chaffey Bridge - high arched bridge carrying the Sturt Highway, 331m long, 9.8m wide, built 1985
- Robinvale/Euston liftspan bridge, being replaced. The new bridge is expected to be completed by mid 2006
- Piangil /Tooleybuc timber and steel truss, 1925, Mallee Highway, single lane restriction on lift span
- Nyah /Koraleigh bridge 104m, central lift span
- Speewa ferry 2-car capacity, 8 tonne load limit
- Swan Hill bridge - 2 lanes except central lift span; 116m
- Murrabit /Gonn Crossing bridge 103m, 1926
- Koondrook /Barham liftspan bridge, 99m, 1904
- Echuca/Moama bridges
- road - built as joint road/rail bridge in 1879, proposed for replacement/bypass soon
- rail
- Barmah bridge 1966, 168m replaced ferry
- Tocumwal - Newell Highway 212m long, 12m wide, built 1987
- Cobram /Barooga - proposed for replacement
- Yarrawonga /Mulwala
- Stock crossing over Yarrawonga Weir
- bridge over Lake Mulwala , 1924, 488m
- Wahgunyah /Corowa - The existing John Foord Bridge will be retained for local traffic when a new bridge is built
- Howlong , opened 2001
- Wodonga/Albury
- Hume Highway - Lincoln Causeway/Union Bridge - 4 lanes, 92 metres long, consructed 1961, widened 1990
- railway
- Bongilla Bridge 1941 single lane, 91m
- Bethanga Bridge on the Riverina Highway across Hume Dam -- consider merging Hume Dam and Lake Hume
- Bellbridge over Lake Hume near the junction of the Murray River and Mitta Mitta River -- aka Heywoods 1984, 124m?
- Wymah ferry at upstream end of Lake Hume, 2-car capacity, 11 tonne load limit
- Jingellic , 156m, 1959
- Tintaldra , steel truss bridge 1959, 185m
- Towong 1938, 61m long
- Bringenbrong Bridge near Corowa, 1961, 87m long
And two small local bridges in the mountains
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