The Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened on19 March 1932. It links the Central Business District with the northern part of the bay.
At the time, it was the second longest and tallest arch bridge in the world.
With an arch of 53 metres from side to side, a road 49 metres above water and a maximum height of 134 metres above sea level, it had the luxury of having eight lanes for vehicular transport, two rails for trains, one pedestrian path and another for cyclists in its approximately 49 metre width and one-and-a-half-kilometre length.
More than 50 tons of steel was used in its construction and more than 6 million handmade rivets were installed red-hot. More than 30,000 litres of paint were needed to apply the first coat.
The four granite towers that frame the bridge are purely decorative as the bridge is supported by its own arch.
Since its inauguration it has been perceived throughout the world as an icon of the city of Sydney which was accompanied by the Opera House from its inauguration in 1973.
The bridge is precisely the center of the world-famous fireworks that celebrate the arrival of the New Year on the night of December 31, the date on which the opera season also begins in Sydney.
Travel notes:
Do you remember Paul Hogan – Crocodile Dundee? At some point in his life he also collaborated with the bridge, by giving it a coat of paint.
© Image by Tourism Australia
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