A magnificent structure that protrudes from Sydney’s stunning city space – The Sydney Harbour Bridge – is certainly one of the iconic structures in Australia. Read on to know more about this monumental structure.
Proposals for the bridge
The proposal for the bridge has been put forward as early as 1815 by architect Francis Greenway, but unfortunately, the idea remained on papers for years and after several years and a number of other proposals, the government bought into the idea of building a bridge and the construction commenced on the 28th July of 1923.
The Construction and architecture
In the year 1924, the contract was given to the firm Dorman Long and Co Ltd, of Middlesbrough as they had a significant amount of experience in the bridge construction field. An arch design was chosen for the bridge as it was stronger and was more cost-effective than the other proposed designs. After nine years of vigorous construction, the bridge was opened to the public on 19th March 1932 with a colourful inauguration ceremony.
Visiting the Bridge
Visiting the bridge is certainly a unique experience, visitors are also allowed to walk over the bridge which is called the Bridge walk. One could walk over the arches on specially designated paths and stairs. You would also get a jumpsuit for safety reasons. Reaching the bridge is also very easy and if you are stationed at a Sydney City Hyde Park hotel the likes of Oaks Hyde Park Plaza, you can get here by taxi.
Facts and trivia
There are some amazing facts about this magnificent structure. It is by far the largest Steel arch bridge in the world. The bridge is constructed with 6 million hand driven rivets and all the steel used to build the bridge weighs a whopping 52, 800 tonnes. The magnanimous structure was built with the original cost of $4.2 million
Caleb Falcon is a travel writer who specializes in writing content based on the many exciting world adventures that await intrepid travellers. Google+
