Views of a Bridge

• The Sydney Harbour Bridge took six years to build and opened on 19 March 1932.

• It links Sydney's CBD with the North Shore.

• The Bridge was designed and constructed by Dorman Long & Co of Middlesborough, UK.

• Seventy-nine per cent of the steel used to build the Bridge was imported from England.

• The weight of all the steelwork is 52,800 tonnes: the arch alone weighs 39,000 tonnes. The weight of the Bridge is borne by four large steel bearing pins.

• A half-arch was built out from each shore and the two were joined on 19 August 1930.

• It is the largest (from top to water level) and fifth-longest steel arch bridge in the world.

• The arch spans 503 metres and the top of the arch is 134 metres above sea level.

• There are six million hand-driven rivets.

• The four 89-metre-high pylons are made of concrete and faced with Australian granite.

• The Bridge carries eight lanes for vehicles (two used to carry trams), two rail lines, a walkway and a cycle path.

• The road that crosses the Bridge is called the Bradfield Highway and is 2.5km long.

• The Highway is a Travelling Stock Route (TSR), which means you can herd animals over the Bridge (but only between midnight and dawn and you have to give notice).

• There were plans to build a bridge as early as 1815.

• There have been Bridge-climbing tours since 1998.

• Locals call the Bridge the Coathanger.