Walk on Water – Sydney Harbor Bridge

Constructed till19th January 1932 and opened since 19th March 1932, Sydney Harbour Bridge has been used by countless people on foot as well as by other means including bicycle. The bridge was designed by a British firm called  Dorman Long and Co Ltd. Still standing tall as an icon it was also known as “The Coathanger” because of its arch-based design.

New year is Sydney is spectacular and the bridge is an integral part of it. Also the more adventurous souls can try to climb this bridge and get an amazing view of the city. I was walking home one day and while crossing the bridge thought of clicking some pics of the bridge that I would like to share with you.

  

Now that you have already seen the pics lets take a look at some very interesting facts about the bridge:

• It a 1439 steps climb to the top of the bridge
• A very interesting fact is that the pylons are only decoration! They don’t really hold it up
  Fact shared by Lyn (http://theencouragingscribe.wordpress.com) – Actor Paul Hogan, of Crocodile Dundee fame, used to be a rigger on the Sydney Harbour bridge and spent his days painting the iconic landmark.
• It is the second longest single arch bridge in the world after the Bayonne Bridge in the US (70 cms longer than this)
• Average traffic has increased from planned 11 thousand to 160 thousand till date
• The Bridge is painted grey because it was the only paint they had enough of at the time!
• The area it takes to paint it is the size of 60 sports fields.
• The payment (20 million dollars) of the  bridge took 56 years to be made.

Some more typical facts about the bridge:

• The Length of each arch span is 503 metres
• The Height to the top of the aircraft beacon is 141 metres above mean sea level
• Width of the Sydney Harbour Bridge’s deck is 49 metres
• Clearance for shipping and vessels is 49 metres
• Height of the Bridges pylons are 89 metres above mean sea level

Also refer the below link for more information on the same:
http://sydneyharbourbridge.aussieblogs.com.au/facts-about-the-sydney-harbour-bridge/