What is the Sydney Harbour Bridge?

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through-arch bridge connecting the central business district of Sydney with the lower north shore. It opened on 19 March 1932 after eight years of construction and remains the world's tallest steel arch bridge at 134 metres above sea level, and one of the longest at 1,149 metres in total length with a main span of 503 metres.

The bridge was designed by John Bradfield of the New South Wales Department of Public Works and built by the British firm Dorman Long of Middlesbrough. Construction began in 1924 and required 53,000 tonnes of steel, six million hand-driven rivets, and the labour of about 1,400 workers, of whom 16 died during construction. The opening ceremony was famously interrupted when Captain Francis de Groot of the right-wing New Guard rode his horse forward and slashed the ribbon with a sword before Premier Jack Lang could cut it.

The bridge carries eight road lanes, two railway lines, a footway, and a cycleway. Its load-bearing capacity is famous: the structure was designed to carry trams (since removed) and freight trains in addition to road traffic. The bridge's distinctive coathanger silhouette has been photographed from every angle and from every Sydney Harbour vantage point, and the climb up the arch to the summit (offered commercially since 1998) has become one of the city's signature tourist experiences.

The bridge stars in major Sydney events. The New Year's Eve fireworks display launches from the arch and the road deck, broadcast live to a global audience. The annual Sydney Marathon crosses the bridge. Sydney's 2000 Olympic torch relay culminated with the torch carried across. The 50th-anniversary celebration in 1982 and the 75th-anniversary BridgeWalk in 2007, when more than 200,000 people walked across, are landmark city events. The bridge is now affectionately known to Sydneysiders simply as 'the bridge'.