The Sydney Harbour Bridge is the widest long span bridge in the world. It spans the Sydney Harbour and is 1,149 meters long total. It has eight vehicle lanes, two train lines, a footway, and a cycleway crossing its 49 meter wide deck. The bridge's arch span is 503 meters long and its pylons are 89 meters high above sea level, made of concrete faced with granite. It was built using temporary anchorages and wire ropes as it was constructed from both sides of the harbor.

1. SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE
Eight vehicle lanes, two train lines, a footway and a cycleway.
The widest Long span Bridge in the world
Length of arch span 503 metres
Height of top of arch 134 metres about mean sea level
Total length of bridge 1149 metres including approach spans
Width of deck 49 metres
Clearance for Shipping 49 metres
Height of Pylons 89 metre above mean sea level
Base of each abutment tower 68 metres across and 48 metres long (two pylons rest on
each abutment tower)

2. SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE
Shortest Hanger 7.3 metres Longest Hanger 58.8 metres

3. SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE
PYLONS
Four decorative 89-metre high pylons made of concrete, faced with granite

4. SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE
• The bridge structure sits on four large
concrete ‘skewbacks’.
• Two are on the south shore and two on the
north.
• The excavation for these was directly into the
solid sandstone.
• Each skewback is 40 feet wide (12·192 m), 90
feet long (27·432 m) and up to 30 feet (9·144
m) deep.
• The upper surface of these, for the main
bearings, is at an angle of 45° to take the
main bearing casting.
• The concrete was poured in sections, and in
an hexagonal pattern
• The foundations are 12 metres (39 feet)
deep, are set in sandstone.
• Anchoring tunnels are 36 metres (118 feet)
long and dug into the bedrock at each end.
Large bolts and nuts are used to tie the thrust
bearings onto their supports.

5. SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE
• Bridge is founded on sandstone rock excavated to a depth of
12 m and filled with special reinforced high-grade concrete
• Built out from either side of the harbour,
using a creeper crane that slowly progressed
up the arch lifting steelwork into position
• The half arches were secured by wire ropes,
anchored in inclined U-shaped tunnels cut
into the rock.
• Anchorage consisted of 128 wire ropes of 70
mm diameter, about 366 m long.
• After the spans were connected, a deck was
put in place. The deck was hung from the
arch and built from the centre out so that
they would not have to move the cranes.

6. SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE

7. SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE
Allowance for deck expansion 420 millimetres

8. SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE
Number of rivets- Approximately 6,000,000
Bearing Pins -Each of the four pins
measures 4.2 metres long and 368 mm in
dia.
• Two-pin arch construction, made up of two arches side by side, joined by horizontal
cross-members. In this sort of arch, the vertical loads (the Bridge’s own weight plus the
weight of trains, cars etc) tend to flatten the arch and push out against the abutments,
creating both vertical and horizontal reaction forces.
• The Bridge structure is supported on four horizontal, cylindrical forged steel pins in the
main bearings, one at each end of the two arches. This allows the movement in the arch
caused by temperature variations and dynamic loading to be accounted for. The arch
may rise up to 180 mm due to heating during the day and cooling at night.

9. SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE