[3] It is a steel frame arch bridge with an unusual concrete veneer, treated to make it appear like "light-coloured porphyry".

On the south bank, aboriginal and later European pathways and land use patterns formed the basis for subsequent traffic networks.

Land and rent values plummeted to their lowest levels and hundreds of home owners applied to the council to work out their rates.

A report in the Telegraph on 8 February 1893 described the event as:[1][4]"What a terrible hiatus in the course of business alone has been caused by the collapse of Victoria Bridge.

[1] In the immediate period after World War I, residential growth created continued demand for public transport, particularly through and from the South Brisbane peninsula.

Land resumption for road widening was enacted in both Stanley and Melbourne Streets, and in September 1925, South Brisbane City Council is noted as having a population of 40,000 persons.

In 1930 the completion of the Sydney to South Brisbane interstate railway benefited the local economy with a demand for factory and manufacturing sites.

Health factors, noise and nuisance associated with industry and proximity to wharves and docks all contributed to the changing perception of the area bounded by Grey and Boundary Streets, Montague Road and the river.

[1] The first meeting of the Greater Brisbane Council in March 1925 passed a motion concerning the employment of experts to investigate what cross river facilities were required and their best locations.

A motion was passed on 20 May 1925 to appoint a Cross River Commission, which reported on 11 January 1926 (chairman Roger Hawken, Professor of Engineering at the University of Queensland, William Muir Nelson and Ronald Martin Wilson).

Problems were encountered with the design of the bridge due to the depth of rock below the river bed increasing from approximately 14 to 23 metres (46 to 75 ft) on the southern bank.

Harding Frew considered five bridge types, each a variation on a theme, stating in his report that:[1][6]"it is frankly admitted that the purely economical aspect alone has not been given as much weight... as the consideration of utility, with good taste, combined with minimum maintenance cost.

The final position of the bridge was determined by Harding Frew's recommendations (Earle and Gilchrist's were slightly upstream from the present site) and was accepted by Council in late 1926.

The bridge was to have a North Quay underpass, and the estimated total cost was £700,000 including viaducts, compulsory acquisitions, roadways, approaches and contingencies.

This caused dismay, and the Commissioner for Main Roads considered that the cost should be contained to £500,000 by reducing the North Quay roadworks, minimising resumptions and building a different type of bridge.

[1] An artist's impression at the time of construction shows trams crossing the bridge with overhead cables, a monument of some kind at the intersection of Skew and Saul Streets, and a different number of viaducts on southern side to those actually built.

Tugs managed to pull it out eventually, but the rising tide could have dislodged a span of the bridge and dumped it in the river, and this was highlighted in the press at the time.

"The use of Sand Islands was highly successful and very accurate, and overcame the problem of requiring the cutting edge to be placed directly on dry ground.

It would appear that the use of Gunite in the arches, beams, deck members and hangers of the main spans, is a major early use of the process in Australia.

The Opening Booklet for the bridge states:[1]"The encasing of broad flange beams with concrete applied under pressure introduces new methods to Brisbane.

[1] Provision for a major water pipe never eventuated, and the closer spacing of stringers in the centre to support a tramway was not utilised.

These have since been replaced by precast, prestressed concrete deck units above Coronation Drive, which links onto the Riverside Expressway, and in the process the footpath widths have been reduced.

It was the era of the Great Depression and massive public works, and Vida Lahey, a distinguished Queensland artist, painted the bridge at least three times during its construction.

The problem confronting Harding Frew was not the span-t- rise ratio of the arch itself, but rather its effect on the design of the deep foundations required at the site.

[1] The original two-span overpass over North Quay, later over Coronation Drive, was replaced by the present single-span structure using precast, prestressed concrete deck units in 1988.

The two smaller arches at the northern embankment are no longer extant, and have been replaced by precast, prestressed concrete deck units above Coronation Drive, which links onto the riverside expressway.

[1] Other decorative features include grotesques to the outer face of some balustrades, and a floral-like motif at either side of the top of the four ornamental tower-like elements.

[1] A pedestrian stair with iron balustrade is located on the southern side of Montague Road and rises through the southwestern footpath.

Constructed of concrete encased steel, the bridge has a monument-like quality, with grotesques and representations of oversized coursing on the main piers and voussoirs on the arched ribs.

The William Jolly Bridge demonstrates a high degree of technical achievement in its design, its use of Gunite (sprayed dry mix concrete), and in the development of the Sand Island method used for the construction of its river piers.