in september 1859 local residents formed a committee for the construction of a pile bridge over the murrumbidgee river. after the new south wales government refused to support this type of bridge the committee decided to finance it themselves. the bridge was completed in october 1862 and opened on 27 october at just over 91 metres long and 7 metres wide. in 1884 the new south wales government purchased the bridge and it was demolished in 1895. in 1895 a truss bridge called the hampden bridge, was built across the murrumbidgee river at wagga. the bridge served the wagga wagga community for over 100 years until 16 august 2006 when it was closed and fenced off to the public due to the bridge being declared a safety risk after one of the trusses failed. in 2014 the hampden bridge was demolished.