Spit Road

Spit Road that travels adjacent to Spit West Reserve is one of Sydney’s major arterial traffic routes. Construction of the present Spit Road began in 1924, as one of the first concrete roads in New South Wales Designed and project managed by Jack Tonkin, Municipal Engineer from 1919 to 1926.[1] Excavation and the blasting of sediment from the western side of Parriwi ridge, to achieve a gentler gradient, was completed by December 1924 and the newly completed road opened to the public in 1925.[2] Construction of a new Spit Road was necessary, as the original Spit Road built in 1862 was of such a steep slope that it was difficult for vehicular access. Additionally, it was made of tarmac, which was suitable for horse drawn carriages of the mid nineteenth century but could not suffice for high-speed motor vehicles of the twentieth century. Much of the labour was carried out by men provided by the Council, many of whom were returned soldiers and unexperienced in construction projects of Spit Road’s scale. Tonkin wrote that ‘Spit Road was a huge undertaking to carry through with unskilled labour. The men, generally speaking, had no idea of rock work. In total, Tonkin estimates there were ‘40, 524 cubic yards of rock cutting, some 50 feet deep, and 29, 706 cubic yards of filling in the main road, with a 29 feet high retaining wall.’[3]

[1] Souter, Mosman, p. 186.

[2] Souter, Mosman, p. 186.

[3] Souter, Mosman, p. 186.