All about Sydney Habour Bridge

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The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district (CBD) and the North Shore. The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic image of both Sydney and Australia. The bridge is locally nicknamed " The Coat Hanger" because of its arch-based design.

The bridge was designed and built by Dorman Long and Co Ltd, Middlesbrough Teesside and Cleveland Bridge, Darlington, County Durham and opened in 1932. Until 1967 it was the city's tallest structure. According to Guinness World Records, it is the world's widest long-span bridge and it is the tallest steel arch bridge, measuring 134 metres (440 ft) from top to water level. It is also the fifth-longest spanning-arch bridge in the world.

Maintenance

Painting of the Sydney Harbour Bridge is an ongoing operation that never ends. The painters will begin at one end of the bridge, and systematically paint their way across to the other end. The process is then immediately restarted from the original end of the bridge. One notable identity among previous bridge-painting crews is Australian icon, Paul Hogan.

In 2006, the first complete repainting for many years commenced. A reason for the decision was the concern that weight of the many layers of paint acquired over the years might be having a destructive effect on the bridge's structure. Because of the previous regime of continuous maintenance painting with lead-based paint, precautions had to be taken to prevent falling paint from contaminating the harbour. This required that each section being painted be sealed off and blasted to remove old paint which was then extracted by vacuum.