Landmark Australia and Oceania
Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a big arch bridge in Sydney, Australia. Cars, trains and people cross the water on it. It opened in 1932.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel arch bridge across Sydney Harbour in Australia. Its arch spans 503 meters, and the top of the arch is 134 meters above the sea. Work began in 1923, and the bridge opened on 19 March 1932. It carries cars, trains, bicycles and people walking.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge links Dawes Point and Milsons Point across Sydney Harbour. Its steel arch, built by the English firm Dorman Long and Co to a specification set by the engineer J. J. C. Bradfield, spans 503 m and rises to 134 m above mean sea level; with its approach spans the bridge is 1,149 m long. It opened on 19 March 1932 and joined Australia's National Heritage List in 2007.
Photo: JJ Harrison, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover the Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is in Sydney, a city in Australia.
It is a bridge with one big curved arch. Cars, trains and people go across the water on it.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge crosses Sydney Harbour in Australia, joining Dawes Point on the south side to Milsons Point on the north side. Its curved steel arch holds up the road and railway deck, which hangs below the arch.
The arch spans 503 meters, about five times the length of a 100-meter race. Transport for NSW says it connects almost a quarter of a million people a day to the two shores of the harbor.
The bridge crosses the harbor between Dawes Point on the south shore and Milsons Point on the north. It is an arch bridge: the deck carrying road and rail traffic is suspended from the arch by pairs of hangers, and the arch's thrust is carried by bearings at each end into the rock.
The 2007 Conservation Management Plan gives the arch a span of 503 m, the top of the arch 134 m above mean sea level, and the whole bridge, with its approach spans, a length of 1,149 m. Transport for NSW says it connects almost a quarter of a million people a day to the northern and southern shores.
- Where
- Sydney Harbour, between Dawes Point and Milsons Point, Sydney, Australia
- Built
- 1923–1932
- Opened
- 19 March 1932
- Span of the arch
- 503 m
- Total length
- 1,149 m, with the approach spans
A bridge people talked about for a century
Long ago, the Eora people lived on both sides of the harbor.
Later, people wanted a bridge across the water. They talked about it for more than 100 years before it was built!
Before Europeans arrived in 1788, both sides of Sydney Harbour were home to the Eora people. As early as 1815, the architect Francis Greenway suggested a bridge across the harbor, and many more plans followed, from a cast iron bridge to a floating bridge and a tunnel.
In 1912 the engineer J. J. C. Bradfield was put in charge of the project. Tenders were called in 1923, and in March 1924 the government accepted an arch design by Dorman Long and Co, a firm from England. The bridge opened on 19 March 1932.
Transport for NSW notes that both shores were home to the Eora people before 1788. Francis Greenway suggested a crossing to Governor Macquarie in 1815; Peter Henderson proposed a cast iron bridge in 1857; a Royal Commission of 1890 set criteria including a high-level bridge with one clear span; and a design competition followed in 1900.
In 1912 J. J. C. Bradfield became Chief Engineer for Metropolitan Railway Construction and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. His 1923 specification asked for a cantilever or arch bridge carrying six lanes of traffic, four railway tracks and two footways, with materials from New South Wales wherever possible. Twenty designs came from six companies; Bradfield recommended Dorman Long and Co's arch, the government accepted it in March 1924, and the contract was signed on 24 March 1924. As the economy slowed toward the worldwide depression, the project kept so many people employed that it was nicknamed the Iron Lung.
Two half-arches that met in the middle
Workers built the arch from both sides at once.
The two halves grew over the water until they touched. Then the road was hung under the arch.
The first sod was turned on 28 July 1923, and work on the approach roads began. Workshops at Milsons Point prepared the steel, and granite for the towers came from a quarry at Moruya.
From October 1928 two creeper cranes built the arch out from each shore, each half held back by 128 steel cables anchored in the rock. On 19 August 1930 the two halves touched. Next, hangers and the deck were added, and the last rivet was driven in January 1932. Before opening, the bridge was tested with 72 railway locomotives lined up on its tracks.
The first sod was turned on 28 July 1923. Fabrication workshops stood at Milsons Point (now the site of Luna Park), and the reopened government quarry at Moruya supplied granite for the piers, abutment towers and pylons; a community of 300 lived at the quarries.
Steel erection began in September 1926, and the arch itself from 26 October 1928. Each half-arch was held back by 128 steel cables anchored through horseshoe-shaped tunnels in the rock, and the cables were tensioned as the half-arches grew. Two creeper cranes, each with a main hoist able to lift 123 tonnes, travelled along the top of the arch as they built it. The halves first touched at 4:15 pm on 19 August 1930. The hangers and deck took nine months; the last rivet was driven on 21 January 1932, and in February 72 locomotives were placed buffer to buffer on the four rail lines to load-test it.
Arch, pylons and deck
The arch is made of steel. Its top is 134 meters above the sea.
There are four tall towers covered in stone, two at each end. The road and train tracks hang below the arch.
The arch is made of two steel frames, called trusses, side by side and braced together. It used 39,000 tonnes of steel. At each end stand two pylons, towers of concrete covered in granite, each 89 meters above the sea.
The deck hangs from the arch on pairs of hangers. It is almost 49 meters wide, and ships can pass 49 meters below it. In 2007 the deck carried eight lanes of road traffic, two railway tracks and two footways.
The arch consists of two 28-panel trusses in vertical planes 30 m apart, braced together; it is 57 m deep beside the pylons and 18 m deep at the crown. It used 39,000 tonnes of structural steel, over two-thirds of it silicon steel, and rests on four main bearings in the abutment towers, which take a thrust of about 20,000 tonnes each under maximum load.
The four granite-faced concrete pylons rise 89 m above mean sea level. Hangers from 7.3 m to 58.8 m long support cross-girders of 110 tonnes each, which carry the deck, almost 49 m wide, with 49 m clearance for shipping. Each approach has five spans, each a pair of steel trusses on granite-faced piers, 646 m in all. The tramway was turned into road lanes after the last tram crossed on 28 June 1958; as described in 2007, the deck carried eight road lanes, two railway tracks and two footways.
- Top of the arch
- 134 m above mean sea level
- Pylons
- four, 89 m above mean sea level
- Steel in the arch
- 39,000 tonnes
- Width of the deck
- almost 49 m
The bridge at night
In the photo, it is night. Lights shine along the bridge.
Two flags fly on top of the arch. The lights sparkle in the water below.
The photo was taken at night on 30 January 2010, from Circular Quay. Lights line the deck and the arch, two flags fly on top, and the stone pylons glow. On the far shore you can see tall buildings and a lit Ferris wheel, all reflected in the water.
The bridge became a National Engineering Landmark in 1988 and joined Australia's National Heritage List on 19 March 2007, exactly 75 years after it opened. In October 1998 the company BridgeClimb began taking visitors on climbs to the top of the arch, clipped to safety lines.
The night photograph (30 January 2010, taken from Circular Quay) shows the lit arch with two flags at its crown, the illuminated pylons, the deck lined with lights, and the north shore's towers and a lit Ferris wheel reflected in the harbor.
In 1988 the American Society of Civil Engineers declared the bridge an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, and it was named a National Engineering Landmark at the same time. It was placed on the National Heritage List on 19 March 2007, the 75th anniversary of its opening. To ease traffic, the Sydney Harbour Tunnel, east of the bridge, opened in August 1992. In October 1998 BridgeClimb began tethered tours to the top of the upper arch, and the Conservation Management Plan of 2007 described the southeast Pylon Lookout, reached from the footway, with its 360-degree view.
Amazing facts
-
Millions and millions of rivets were made to build the bridge!
More than 6 million rivets were made for building the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Over 6 million rivets were manufactured by McPhersons Pty Ltd for the bridge's construction.
-
People call the bridge the Coathanger, because of its shape.
The bridge's nickname is the Coathanger.
Its nickname is the Coathanger; a coathanger shape appeared in Sydney's New Year's Eve fireworks of 2006–2007, which celebrated the bridge's 75th anniversary.
-
When the two halves of the arch met, the workers got half a day off!
When the two half-arches met in August 1930, the workers celebrated with a half-day holiday.
The closing of the arch on 19 August 1930 was celebrated with a half-day holiday for the workers and a gold sovereign for those who had released the cables.
-
On opening day, crowds of people walked across the bridge.
On opening day, 19 March 1932, tens of thousands of people walked across the roadway before it opened to traffic at midnight.
After the opening parade on 19 March 1932, tens of thousands of people walked across the roadway; the bridge opened to vehicles at midnight, and the rest of the week was Bridge Week.
Words to know
- arch
- a curved structure that carries weight across an opening
- span
- the distance a bridge or arch stretches across without support in between
- pylon
- a tall tower at the end of a bridge
- rivet
- a metal pin used to join pieces of steel together
- hanger
- a steel piece that hangs down from an arch and holds up the deck
- granite
- a hard, speckled stone used for building
- harbor
- an area of deep, sheltered water where ships can stay safely
Discovery challenge
-
What shape holds up the Sydney Harbour Bridge?
What kind of bridge is the Sydney Harbour Bridge?
Which structural type was chosen for the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1924?
- An arch
- A floating raft
- A row of tall poles in the water
Show the answer
An arch
A big curved arch!
An arch bridge: the deck hangs below a steel arch.
A steel arch, Dorman Long and Co's design, with the deck suspended from it by hangers.
-
When did the bridge open?
In which year did the Sydney Harbour Bridge open?
In which year was the Sydney Harbour Bridge officially opened?
- 1932
- 1912
- 1958
Show the answer
1932
In 1932!
On 19 March 1932.
On 19 March 1932; it opened to traffic at midnight that night.
-
What was put on the bridge to test how strong it was?
How was the bridge tested before it opened?
What load was used to test the bridge in February 1932?
- 72 train engines
- Big tanks of water
- Piles of sandbags
Show the answer
72 train engines
72 train engines!
With 72 railway locomotives lined up on its tracks.
72 locomotives placed buffer to buffer on the four rail lines and moved in different patterns.
-
What is the bridge's funny nickname?
What nickname is the bridge known by because of its shape?
Which nickname does the Sydney Harbour Bridge go by because of its shape?
- The Coathanger
- The Big Wheel
- The Long Tunnel
Show the answer
The Coathanger
The Coathanger!
The Coathanger.
The Coathanger; while it was being built it was also nicknamed the Iron Lung.
-
Who lived by the harbor long before the bridge?
Who lived on both sides of Sydney Harbour before 1788?
Which people's home were both shores of Sydney Harbour before 1788, according to Transport for NSW?
- The Eora people
- Workers from England
- Nobody at all
Show the answer
The Eora people
The Eora people!
The Eora people.
The Eora people.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Australia, and explain how an arch bridge holds up its deck.
- Describe how the arch was built out from both shores, held back by cables, until the halves met in 1930.
- Use real measurements (a 503 m span, a crown 134 m above the sea) to picture the size of a large structure.
Recommended ages: 4 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- People suggested a bridge across the harbor for more than 100 years before one was built. Why might a big project take so long to begin?
- Why do you think engineers tested the bridge with locomotives before letting the public use it?
- The bridge kept many people employed during hard times. How can a big building project help a city?
Try at home or in class
- Bend a strip of card into an arch between two stacks of books, then hang a paper 'deck' below it with string and test how many coins it can hold.
- Measure 50 steps outside, then talk about how many times longer the bridge's 503 m arch would be.
Key vocabulary: arch, span, pylon, rivet, hanger, granite, harbor
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- A short history of the Sydney Harbour Bridge , Transport for NSW
- Sydney Harbour Bridge Conservation Management Plan (July 2007, Godden Mackay Logan for the RTA) , Transport for NSW
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.