FAQs

Check these FAQs for answers to common questions.

How tall is the Bridge?
How long is the Bridge?
How wide is the Bridge?
How long did it take to build the Bridge?
When was the Bridge opened?
Who designed the Bridge?
What materials are used in the Bridge?
How was the Bridge Constructed?

How tall is the Bridge?

The highest point of the arch is 134 metres (440 feet). The pylons are 89 metres (292 feet) high. The Bridge was the highest point in Sydney Australia until 1967.
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How long is the Bridge?

The longest span of the Bridge is 503 metres (1650 feet). The total length is 1.15km (3770 feet).
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How wide is the Bridge?

The Bridge is 49 metres (161 feet) wide, making it the widest single-span Bridge in the world.
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How long did it take to build the Bridge?

It took over eight years to build the Bridge, between July 1923 and March 1932. Planning for the Bridge began as early as 1912.
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When was the Bridge opened?

The Bridge was opened in Sydney Australia on 19 March 1932.
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Who designed the Bridge?

Dr JJC Bradfield, who lends his name to the Bradfield Highway in Sydney, prepared the general design, and is considered the ‘Father of the Bridge’. The detailed design and the crucial plans for the erection process were carried out by the contractor’s consulting engineer Ralph Freeman, who later received a knighthood.
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What materials are used in the Bridge?

The girders are made from steel (79% imported from England and 21% from Australian sources). The pylons are made of concrete faced in granite, which was quarried near Moruya, 300km from Sydney. Around 6 million rivets and 52,800 tonnes of steelwork and 17,000 cubic metres of granite have gone into the construction of the Bridge.
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How was the Bridge Constructed?

The approach spans were erected first, then work began on the main arch. Two half-arches were built out from each side of the Harbour. Steel members were transported on barges into the Harbour and hauled into position with creeper cranes mounted on the arches, which built the Bridge out before them as they inched forward.

The two halves of the arch were joined on 19 August 1930, bringing a well needed smile to the face of depression-era Sydney. The road deck was then hung from the arch from the centre outwards and was in place within nine months.
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