The Raleigh Road bridge, crossing the Maribyrnong River easterly and connecting directly to the western end of Maribyrnong Road, replaced two older bridges. Previously, road and tram traffic crossed the river on separate bridges: the former Raleigh Road bridge on a dog-leg alignment just to the north of the current bridge for vehicular traffic (designed by John Monash) dating from 1911, and a timber trestle bridge solely for trams crossing the river on a direct route dating from 1940, to serve the explosives factories on the western side of the Maribyrnong during WWII.
The Raleigh Road bridge replaced two older bridges that served both road and tram traffic across the Maribyrnong River, with one designed by John Monash for vehicular traffic in 1911 and another built specifically for trams in 1940 to serve the explosives factories on the western side of the river during World War II.