Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney, Australia


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Architect
Dorman Long & Co
Thomas S. Tait, of John Burnet & Partners.
Date Built
Opened to Traffic February 1932
Location
The southern end of the bridge is located at Millers Point in The Rocks area, and the northern end at Milsons Point in the lower North Shore area.
Description



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The Sydney Harbour Bridge is one of those iconic symbols that have become synonymous with a country’s identity.  It is one of Australia’s most recognisable landmarks and the backdrop for the country’s New Years Eve fireworks display that is transmitted around the world. 

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.  It was added to Wikipedia by Adam J.W.C.  Details can be seen by clicking on the image.

Its story began in 1922 when the Government of New South Wales passed legislation authorising the construction of a single-span bridge across Sydney Harbour.  The bridge was to be of a sufficient height above the water as to allow the passage of the largest ocean liners.  The government appointed J J C Butterfield as Chief Engineer for the bridge and he drew up the general design which, at that time, called for the bridge to carry four railway tracks, a 57 ft roadway and two footpaths. 


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Today, it carries eight traffic lanes and two railroad lines. There is a pedestrian pathway on the eastern side of the bridge and a cycleway on the western side of the bridge.

The actual design and construction of the bridge was put up for submissions from around the World and the successful design came from Dorman Long & Co of Middlesbrough, UK.  They submitted seven proposals that included both arch and cantilever designs.  The one chosen was for an arch that provided a headroom at high tide of 170 feet and a span of 1,650 feet making it the longest in the World at that time.  When the approach spans were included in the calculation the bridge was 3,770 feet long and the top of the arch was 450 feet above the level of the water.  The deck was 160 feet wide and taken all together the bridge involved 37.000 tons of steel and six million hand driven rivets

Workshops were set up on both ends of the bridge.  The method of construction was similar to that employed by the company in the building of the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle, UK (see below). 



The two bridges are strikingly similar in design although the Sydney Bridge is significantly larger.

The New South Wales Government website says that, “... During the eight years of its construction from 1924 to 1932, an estimated total of between 2,500–4,000 workers were employed in various aspects of its building. They included engineers, surveyors and architects, blacksmiths, boilermakers, carpenters and concreters, stonemasons, riggers, crane drivers, painters and day labourers."

The foundation stone for the bridge was laid on March 26, 1925 accompanied by quite a significant ceremony, as you can see below. 


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"The first work on the Bridge was the construction of the Bridge approaches and the approach spans. ....


This image is of Australian origin and is now in the public domain because its term of copyright has expired.  More details can be seen by clicking on the image.

.... By September 1926 concrete piers had been built to support the approach spans on each side of the harbour. An estimated 469 buildings – homes and businesses on the north side of the harbour – were demolished with little or no compensation, to make way for the construction of the Bridge.

During this time, work began on preparing the foundations that would carry the entire weight of the arch span and its loading. The angled foundations were built into the side of the abutment towers. The abutment towers were made of concrete, but faced with granite from a quarry at Moruya.”


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The abutment towers were designed by the Scottish architect Thomas S. Tait, a partner in the architectural firm John Burnet & Partners.

“A giant ‘creeper crane’ was built on each side to move forward on the arches they would help construct. ....


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.... They were used to lift men and materials in a cradle and position them while erecting steelwork. On each shore, tunnels were excavated through which steel cables were passed to fix to the upper chords of each of the half arches to prevent their collapse as they extended out toward each other.  On 26 October 1928 the erection of the arches began. .....


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... On 19 August 1930 the two halves touched for the first time.”


This image is of Australian origin and is now in the public domain because its term of copyright has expired. 
More details can be seen by clicking on the image.




This image is of Australian origin and is now in the public domain because its term of copyright has expired. 
More details can be seen by clicking on the image.



This image is of Australian origin and is now in the public domain because its term of copyright has expired.  More details can be seen by clicking on the image.


This image is of Australian origin and is now in the public domain because its term of copyright has expired.  More details can be seen by clicking on the image.


In February of 1932, “...  the Bridge was test loaded. All four of the rail tracks were loaded with up to 96 steam locomotives placed end to end. After three weeks of tests the Bridge was declared to be safe for traffic and was ready to be opened.”


The image above is of Australian origin and is now in the public domain because its term of copyright has expired.  More details can be seen by clicking on the image.



One of the city's tourist attractions is a guided walk over the bridge.  If you look carefully at the image below you can see two groups, one at the top of the arch and another approaching from left.





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