Bridge Facts

The Sydney Harbour Bridge may not be the longest steel-arch Bridge in the world, but it is the largest and widest. At 48.8 metres (151.3 feet) wide, the Guinness Book of Records lists it as the widest long span Bridge in the world and until 1967, it was Sydney’s tallest structure.

Here are some more Sydney Harbour Bridge Facts:

• Sydney locals refer to it affectionately as “the Coathanger” .
• The Bridge carries 8 lanes of traffic, a footpath, a cycleway and 2 train lines.
• It carries what is one of Australia’s shortest, but also its busiest highway, “The Bradfield Highway”.
• The Sydney Harbour Bridge is the fourth longest single-span steel arch bridge in the world, behind Bayonne Bridge in New York, The New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia and the longest which is The Lupu Bridge in Shanghai.
• The Bridge’s arch spans 503 metres (1,650 feet).
• The arch's summit is 134 metres (440 feet) above mean sea level.
• The weight of the steel arch is 39,000 tons.
• Dorman Long and Co also built The Tyne Bridge in Newcastle, England.
• If you want to find it on GoogleEarth the coordinates are 33°51′08″S, 151°12′38″E.