Officially open in 1932, the Sydney
Harbour Bridge was the culmination of years of planning
and debate over a north - south harbour link.HistoryIn 1912 J. J. C. Bradfield, the principal designing engineer to the New South Wales Public Works Department was appointed Chief Engineer of the Sydney Harbour Bridge project. However it was more than 10 years before any action was taken. The legislation to build the bridge was twice defeated in the New South Wales Parliament and then further delayed by the onset of the First World War. After many years of further research and planning the Government gave Bradfield the go ahead in 1922. Tenders were called in 1923, with the successful design being submitted by Ralph Freeman consulting engineer to the steelmasters, Dorman, Long & Co of Middleborough, England. The first sod was turned on April 28, 1923. Demolition
of many structures was required to clear way for the
bridge and its approaches. Workshops were established on
the northern side to build the heavy steel components
that were required. Special steels for the main arches
were shipped out from Britain, with significant amounts
of mild steels being supplied by BHP The arch was built in two halves, one from either side of the harbour. In August 1930 the two halves finally met. Two years later, the road across and the approaches was completed. To test the strength of the new bridge 7,000 tons ( or tonnes ) of locomotives were run on the bridge at one time. On March 19 1932 the Bridge was officially opened. The opening was marred by Franics de Groot, who acting out of political motives, joined the mounted guard and then just as the New South Wales Premier, Jack Lang, went to cut the ribbon lunged forward and slashed the ribbon with his sword. Today the Sydney Harbour Bridge stands as a fitting example of the feats of modern engineering. Along with the Opera House, it provides one of the greatest internationally recognised symbols of Australia and is a fitting tribute to all those people who worked on its contraction. |
| Weighing 60,000 tons ( or tonnes ), the
bridge rests on four steel pins only, each of them little
more than 30 centimetres ( 1 foot ) in diameter and about
4.2 metres ( 14 feet ) long. The granite pylons at each
corner of the Bridge don't actually support the Bridge.
At high tide there is a clearance of 51.75 metres ( 172
feet 6 inches )between the 48 metre ( 160 foot ) wide
deck and the water. The Bridge is 53 metres tall ( 175 feet ) and spans 503 metres ( 1670 feet ). It carries eight lanes of traffic, two lanes of railway track and a bicycle and public footway. The Bridge is maintained by a small army that must paint the 48 hectares ( 120 acre ) surface of the structure with over 30,800 litres ( 7,000 gallons ) of paint regularly. |
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