Tom Uglys Bridge

Australian road bridge

Following a long campaign by local councils and motoring authorities, a New South Wales Government loan to Sutherland Shire Council was used to finance the replacement of one of the punt services across the Georges River. The crossing was first opened for traffic on 26 April 1929, and officially opened by the Governor of New South Wales on 11 May 1929. It was known as the "George's River Bridge". The 1929 bridge consists of nine steel truss spans forming a total length of ; six spans were and three spans were The bridge was designed by Percy Allan who designed many bridges in New South Wales including the Pyrmont Bridge. When the bridge was opened it was the longest bridge in Australia. The toll was collected on the Sylvania side of the bridge by toll collectors who stood on the road. On 31 May 1952 the tolls were removed

The new bridge was designed to carry four lanes of traffic. During repair work on the 1929 bridge, when it was temporarily closed to traffic, the 1987 bridge was configured both for one lane northbound and three lanes southbound.

Most duplicate bridges are close together (like the dual bridges at Ryde) and parallel, allowing the form of the road approaches to continue. However, at Tom Uglys Point, the two bridges are not parallel. They are less than apart at the northern end, but about apart at the southern end. This avoids replication of the pair of tight curves on the southern approach to the 1929 bridge on the southern exit from the second bridge. On the southern side, between the two bridges, is a boat ramp, accessible from the northbound bridge approach. On the northern side a loop road allows drivers travelling south along the Princes Highway (A1) to avoid the bridge and return northwards along the highway.

Tom Uglys Bridge took its name from the geographical feature at the northern end of the bridge, known as Tom Uglys Point. The point was known as Tom Uglys Point over 80 years prior to the construction of the bridge. At various times the bridge is incorrectly transcribed as Tom Ugly's Bridge. There are several theories about the origin of the name of the point. One is that it was named after a local resident Tom Huxley and the name was a mispronunciation by local Aboriginal people. Descendants of Thomas Huxley have concluded that he lived and owned land in the area but official records do not exist to verify this. Another theory is that it was derived from the name of a local Aboriginal man, Tow weiry, who lived in the area and died about 1846. Another theory is that there was a local fisherman resident in the area by the name of Tom Illigley. The name was officially adopted to distinguish between the various subsequent bridges across Georges River, after the opening of the Captain Cook Bridge in 1965 and the Alfords Point Bridge in 1973.