111-1126: Harbour Bridge or Harbor Bridge may refer to: Australia [ edit ] Sydney Harbour Bridge , New South Wales Canada [ edit ] Halifax Harbour Bridges , a Crown corporation, Nova Scotia Saint John Harbour Bridge , Saint John, New Brunswick New Zealand [ edit ] Auckland Harbour Bridge , Auckland Onehunga Harbour Road Bridge , Auckland Tauranga Harbour Bridge , Tauranga Upper Harbour Bridge , Auckland Slovakia [ edit ] Prístavný most (literally Harbour Bridge), Bratislava Taiwan [ edit ] Great Harbor Bridge , Kaohsiung Ukraine [ edit ] Harbour Bridge (Kyiv) United Kingdom [ edit ] Wick Harbour Bridge, Wick, Scotland United States [ edit ] Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge , Texas Harbor Bridge Project (New Harbor Bridge) replacement Great Egg Harbor Bridge , New Jersey See also [ edit ] Harbour Crossing (disambiguation) Harbour Tunnel (disambiguation) Topics referred to by
222-401: A bridge as early as 1814, when convict and noted architect Francis Greenway reputedly proposed to Governor Lachlan Macquarie that a bridge be built from the northern to the southern shore of the harbour. In 1825, Greenway wrote a letter to the then " The Australian " newspaper stating that such a bridge would "give an idea of strength and magnificence that would reflect credit and glory on
333-400: A change of government at the 1904 NSW State election construction never began. A unique three-span bridge was proposed in 1922 by Ernest Stowe with connections at Balls Head , Millers Point , and Balmain with a memorial tower and hub on Goat Island . In 1914, John Bradfield was appointed Chief Engineer of Sydney Harbour Bridge and Metropolitan Railway Construction, and his work on
444-456: A cost of £ 3,500,000 ($ 7 million) and completion date of 26 January 1963 ( Australia Day ). In reality, the project was completed ten years late and 1,357% over budget in real terms. In 1972, a construction worker was fired, leading the BLF -affiliated workers to demand his rehiring and a 25% wage increase. In response to this, all the workers were fired, and in revenge the workers broke into
555-421: A design for a suspension bridge and won the second prize of £500. In 1902, when the outcome of the first competition became mired in controversy, Selfe won a second competition outright, with a design for a steel cantilever bridge . The selection board were unanimous, commenting that, "The structural lines are correct and in true proportion, and... the outline is graceful". However due to an economic downturn and
666-407: A large pneumatic rivet gun . The largest of the rivets used weighed 3.5 kg (8 lb) and was 39.5 cm (15.6 in) long. The practice of riveting large steel structures, rather than welding, was, at the time, a proven and understood construction technique, whilst structural welding had not at that stage been adequately developed for use on the bridge. At each end of the arch stands
777-532: A large contemporary brass plaque being bolted very tightly to the side of one of the granite columns of the bridge to makes things clear. The official ceremony to mark the turning of the first sod occurred on 28 July 1923, on the spot at Milsons Point where two workshops to assist in building the bridge were to be constructed. An estimated 469 buildings on the north shore, both private homes and commercial operations, were demolished to allow construction to proceed, with little or no compensation being paid. Work on
888-475: A large payment for their troubles. Before the Sydney Opera House competition, Jørn Utzon had won seven of the 18 competitions he had entered but had never seen any of his designs built. Utzon's submitted concept for the Sydney Opera House was almost universally admired and considered groundbreaking. The Assessors Report of January 1957 stated: The drawings submitted for this scheme are simple to
999-653: A member of the Sydney Opera House Executive Committee, states: "Utzon came up with an idea of making all the shells of uniform curvature throughout in both directions." Peter Jones, the author of Ove Arup's biography, states that "the architect and his supporters alike claimed to recall the precise eureka moment ...; the engineers and some of their associates, with equal conviction, recall discussion in both central London and at Ove's house." He goes on to claim that "the existing evidence shows that Arup's canvassed several possibilities for
1110-523: A pair of 89-metre-high (292 ft) concrete pylons, faced with granite . The pylons were designed by the Scottish architect Thomas S. Tait , a partner in the architectural firm John Burnet & Partners. Some 250 Australian, Scottish, and Italian stonemasons and their families relocated to a temporary settlement at Moruya , 300 km (186 mi) south of Sydney, where they quarried around 18,000 m (635,664 cu ft) of granite for
1221-417: A philistine, he had been exposed before Parliament and dumped as Country Party leader for 19 years of falsely claiming a university degree. The Opera House gave Hughes a second chance. For him, as for Utzon, it was all about control; about the triumph of homegrown mediocrity over foreign genius. Differences ensued. One of the first was that Utzon believed the clients should receive information on all aspects of
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#17327724017121332-651: A recording studio, retail shops, cafes, restaurants, bars including the Opera Bar and Opera Kitchen. Guided tours are available, including a frequent tour of the front-of-house spaces, and a daily backstage tour that takes visitors backstage to see areas normally reserved for performers and crew members. Planning began in the late 1940s when Eugene Goossens , the Director of the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music , lobbied for
1443-465: A strictly structural sense. Though the shells appear uniformly white from a distance, they actually feature a subtle chevron pattern composed of 1,056,006 tiles in two colours: glossy white and matte cream. The tiles were manufactured by the Swedish company Höganäs AB which generally produced stoneware tiles for the paper-mill industry. Apart from the tile of the shells and the glass curtain walls of
1554-493: A suitable venue for large theatrical productions. The normal venue for such productions, the Sydney Town Hall , was not considered large enough. By 1954 Goossens succeeded in gaining the support of New South Wales Premier Joseph Cahill , who called for designs for a dedicated opera house. It was also Goossens who insisted that Bennelong Point be the site: Cahill had wanted it to be on or near Wynyard Railway Station in
1665-513: A tunnel to complement the bridge. It was determined that the bridge could no longer support the increased traffic flow of the 1980s. The Sydney Harbour Tunnel was completed in August 1992 and carries only motor vehicles. The Bradfield Highway is designated as a Travelling Stock Route which means that it is permissible to herd livestock across the bridge, but only between midnight and dawn, and after giving notice of intention to do so. In practice,
1776-467: Is also one of the first in the world to use araldite to glue the precast structural elements together and proved the concept for future use. It was also a first in mechanical engineering. Another Danish firm, Steensen Varming , was responsible for designing the new air-conditioning plant, the largest in Australia at the time, supplying over 600,000 cubic feet (17,000 m ) of air per minute, using
1887-427: Is composed of two 28-panel arch trusses; their heights vary from 18 m (59 ft) at the centre of the arch, to 57 m (187 ft) at the ends next to the pylons. The arch has a span of 504 m (1,654 ft), and its summit is 134 m (440 ft) above mean sea level; expansion of the steel structure on hot days can increase the height of the arch by 18 cm (7.1 in). The total weight of
1998-567: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney , New South Wales , Australia , spanning Sydney Harbour from the central business district (CBD) to the North Shore . The view of the bridge, the Harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House
2109-485: Is four each way. For the morning peak hour, the lane changes on the bridge also require changes to the Warringah Freeway , with its inner western reversible carriageway directing traffic to the bridge lane numbers three and four southbound. Until September 1982, during the evening peak the tidal flow was set as six northbound and two southbound lanes. The bridge has a series of overhead gantries which indicate
2220-462: Is supported on 588 concrete piers sunk as much as 25 m (82 ft) below sea level. The highest roof point is 67 metres above sea-level which is the same height as that of a 22-storey building. The roof is made of 2,194 pre-cast concrete sections, which weigh up to 15 tonnes each. Although the roof structures are commonly referred to as "shells" (as in this article), they are precast concrete panels supported by precast concrete ribs, not shells in
2331-446: Is surrounded by substantial open public spaces, and the large stone-paved forecourt area with the adjacent monumental steps is regularly used as a performance space. The Sydney Opera House includes a number of performance venues: Other areas (for example the northern and western foyers) are also used for performances on an occasional basis. Venues are also used for conferences, ceremonies and social functions. The building also houses
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#17327724017122442-536: Is widely regarded as an iconic image of Sydney, and of Australia itself. Nicknamed "The Coathanger" because of its arch-based design, the bridge carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic. Under the direction of John Bradfield of the New South Wales Department of Public Works , the bridge was designed and built by British firm Dorman Long of Middlesbrough , and opened in 1932. The bridge's general design, which Bradfield tasked
2553-571: The New7Wonders of the World campaign list. The facility features a modern expressionist design , with a series of large precast concrete "shells", each composed of sections of a sphere of 75.2 metres (246 ft 8.6 in) radius, forming the roofs of the structure, set on a monumental podium. The building covers 1.8 hectares (4.4 acres) of land and is 183 m (600 ft) long and 120 m (394 ft) wide at its widest point. It
2664-559: The Cahill Expressway , or the Western Distributor . Drivers on the northern side will find themselves on the Warringah Freeway , though it is easy to turn off the freeway to drive westwards into North Sydney or eastwards to Neutral Bay and beyond upon arrival on the northern side. The bridge originally only had four wider traffic lanes occupying the central space which now has six, as photos taken soon after
2775-525: The Herald offered the view that: "It was not his [Utzon's] fault that a succession of Governments and the Opera House Trust should so signally have failed to impose any control or order on the project ... his concept was so daring that he himself could solve its problems only step by step ... his insistence on perfection led him to alter his design as he went along." The Sydney Opera House opened
2886-571: The Sydney Harbour Tunnel , with the base of the southern pylon containing the Transport for NSW maintenance shed for the bridge, and the base of the northern pylon containing the traffic management shed for tow trucks and safety vehicles used on the bridge. In 1942, the pylons were modified to include parapets and anti-aircraft guns designed to assist in both Australia's defence and general war effort. There had been plans to build
2997-716: The Sydney Theatre Company and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra . As one of the most popular visitor attractions in Australia, the site is visited by more than eight million people annually, and approximately 350,000 visitors take a guided tour of the building each year. The building is managed by the Sydney Opera House Trust , an agency of the New South Wales State Government. On 28 June 1998
3108-409: The 2400 precast ribs and 4000 roof panels in an on-site factory and also developed the construction processes. The achievement of this solution avoided the need for expensive formwork construction by allowing the use of precast units and it also allowed the roof tiles to be prefabricated in sheets on the ground, instead of being stuck on individually at height. The tiles themselves were manufactured by
3219-568: The Ministry's criticism of the project's costs and time, along with their impression of Utzon's designs being impractical, this ultimately led to his resignation in 1966 (see below). The cost of the project so far, even in October 1966, was still only A$ 22.9 million, less than a quarter of the final $ 102 million cost. However, the projected costs for the design were at this stage much more significant. The second stage of construction
3330-595: The NSW Department of Public Works prepared a general design for a single-arch bridge based upon New York City 's Hell Gate Bridge . In 1922 the government of George Fuller passed the Sydney Harbour Act 1922 , specifying the construction of a high-level cantilever or arch bridge across the Harbour between Dawes Point and Milsons Point, along with construction of necessary approaches and electric railway lines, and worldwide tenders were invited for
3441-552: The NSW Department of Public Works with producing, was a rough copy of the Hell Gate Bridge in New York City . The design chosen from the tender responses was original work created by Dorman Long, who leveraged some of the design from its own Tyne Bridge . It is the tenth-longest spanning-arch bridge in the world and the tallest steel arch bridge , measuring 134 m (440 ft) from top to water level. It
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3552-486: The New South Wales government insisting contracts be put out to tender . Utzon was highly reluctant to respond to questions or criticism from the client's Sydney Opera House Executive Committee (SOHEC). However, he was greatly supported throughout by a member of the committee and one of the original competition judges, Harry Ingham Ashworth . Utzon was unwilling to compromise on some aspects of his designs that
3663-514: The Opera House project) all played a very significant part in the design development. As Peter Murray states in The Saga of the Sydney Opera House : ... the two men—and their teams—enjoyed a collaboration that was remarkable in its fruitfulness and, despite many traumas, was seen by most of those involved in the project as a high point of architect/engineer collaboration. The design of
3774-497: The Swedish company Höganäs Keramik . It took three years of development to produce the effect Utzon wanted in what became known as the Sydney Tile, 120mm square. It is made from clay with a small percentage of crushed stone. Ove Arup and Partners' site engineer supervised the construction of the shells, which used an innovative adjustable steel-trussed "erection arch" (developed by Hornibrook's engineer Joe Bertony ) to support
3885-774: The Sydney Opera House became a UNESCO World Heritage Site , having been listed on the (now defunct) Register of the National Estate since 1980, the National Trust of Australia register since 1983, the City of Sydney Heritage Inventory since 2000, the New South Wales State Heritage Register since 2003, and the Australian National Heritage List since 2005. The Opera House was also a finalist in
3996-456: The angled foundations built into their sides. Once work had progressed sufficiently on the support structures, a giant creeper crane was erected on each side of the harbour. These cranes were fitted with a cradle, and then used to hoist men and materials into position to allow for erection of the steelwork. To stabilise works while building the arches, tunnels were excavated on each shore with steel cables passed through them and then fixed to
4107-418: The arches, allowing the roadway and other parts of the bridge to be constructed from the centre out. The vertical hangers were attached to the arch, and these were then joined with horizontal crossbeams. The deck for the roadway and railway were built on top of the crossbeams, with the deck itself being completed by June 1931, and the creeper cranes were dismantled. Rails for trains and trams were laid, and road
4218-716: The architect's ultimate resignation. The building and its surrounds occupy the whole of Bennelong Point on Sydney Harbour , between Sydney Cove and Farm Cove , adjacent to the Sydney central business district and the Royal Botanic Gardens , and near to the Sydney Harbour Bridge . The building comprises multiple performance venues, which together host well over 1,500 performances annually, attended by more than 1.2 million people. Performances are presented by numerous performing artists, with many resident companies such as Opera Australia ,
4329-544: The associated roadway as the Bradfield Highway. After they did so, there was a 21-gun salute and an Royal Australian Air Force flypast . The intruder was identified as Francis de Groot . He was convicted of offensive behaviour and fined £5 after a psychiatric test proved he was sane, but this verdict was reversed on appeal. De Groot then successfully sued the Commissioner of Police for wrongful arrest and
4440-438: The base of the pylons are essential to support the loads from the arch and hold its span firmly in place, but the pylons themselves have no structural purpose. They were included to provide a frame for the arch panels and to give better visual balance to the bridge. The pylons were not part of the original design, and were only added to allay public concern about the structural integrity of the bridge. Although originally added to
4551-532: The bridge again built momentum. Bradfield persevered with the project, fleshing out the details of the specifications and financing for his cantilever bridge proposal, and in 1921 he travelled overseas to investigate tenders. His confidential secretary Kathleen M. Butler handled all the international correspondence during his absence, her title belying her role as project manager as well as a technical adviser. On return from his travels Bradfield decided that an arch design would also be suitable and he and officers of
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4662-410: The bridge and its approaches, is named in honour of Bradfield's contribution to the bridge. Bradfield visited the site sporadically throughout the eight years it took Dorman Long to complete the bridge. Despite having originally championed a cantilever construction and the fact that his own arched general design was used in neither the tender process nor as input to the detailed design specification (and
4773-596: The bridge by symmetrical ramps and tunnels. The eastern-side railway tracks were intended for use by a planned rail link to the Northern Beaches ; in the interim they were used to carry trams from the North Shore into a terminal within Wynyard station, and when tram services were discontinued in 1958, they were converted into extra traffic lanes. The Bradfield Highway , which is the main roadway section of
4884-471: The bridge coincided with the construction of a system of underground railways beneath Sydney's CBD, known today as the City Circle , and the bridge was designed with this in mind. The bridge was designed to carry six lanes of road traffic, flanked on each side by two railway tracks and a footpath. Both sets of rail tracks were linked into the underground Wynyard railway station on the south (city) side of
4995-429: The bridge itself commenced with the construction of approaches and approach spans, and by September 1926 concrete piers to support the approach spans were in place on each side of the harbour. As construction of the approaches took place, work was also started on preparing the foundations required to support the enormous weight of the arch and loadings. Concrete and granite faced abutment towers were constructed, with
5106-426: The bridge pylons. The stonemasons cut, dressed, and numbered the blocks, which were then transported to Sydney on three ships built specifically for this purpose. The Moruya quarry was managed by John Gilmore, a Scottish stonemason who emigrated with his young family to Australia in 1924, at the request of the project managers. The concrete used was also Australian-made and supplied from Kandos . Abutments at
5217-438: The bridge solely for their aesthetic value, all four pylons have now been put to use. The south-eastern pylon contains a museum and tourist centre, with a 360° lookout at the top providing views across the Harbour and city. The south-western pylon is used by Transport for NSW to support its CCTV cameras overlooking the bridge and the roads around that area. The two pylons on the north shore include venting chimneys for fumes from
5328-541: The bridge was AU£ 6.25 million, which was not paid off in full until 1988. The bridge was formally opened on Saturday, 19 March 1932. Among those who attended and gave speeches were the Governor of New South Wales , Sir Philip Game , and the Minister for Public Works, Lawrence Ennis . The Premier of New South Wales , Jack Lang , was to open the bridge by cutting a ribbon at its southern end. However, just as Lang
5439-589: The bridge was also used to cut the ribbon at the dedication of the Bayonne Bridge , which had opened between Bayonne, New Jersey , and New York City the year before. Despite the bridge opening in the midst of the Great Depression , opening celebrations were organised by the Citizens of Sydney Organising Committee, an influential body of prominent men and politicians that formed in 1931 under
5550-459: The bridge. One of three microphones used at the opening ceremony was signed by 10 local dignitaries who officiated at the event, Philip Game, John Lang, MA Davidson, Samuel Walder, D Clyne, H Primrose, Ben Howe, John Bradfield, Lawrence Ennis and Roland Kitson. It was supplied by Amalgamated Wireless Australasia , who organised the ceremony's broadcast and collected by Philip Geeves, the AWA announcer on
5661-463: The building was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20 October 1973, 16 years after Utzon's 1957 selection as winner of an international design competition. The Government of New South Wales , led by the premier , Joseph Cahill , authorised work to begin in 1958 with Utzon directing construction. The government's decision to build Utzon's design is often overshadowed by circumstances that followed, including cost and scheduling overruns as well as
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#17327724017125772-528: The building; stage II (1959–1963) consisted of building the upper podium; stage III (1963–1967) the construction of the outer shells, based upon the image of whales breaching the water; stage IV (1967–1973) interior design and construction. Stage I started on 2 March 1959 with the construction firm Civil & Civic , monitored by the engineers Ove Arup and Partners . The government had pushed for work to begin early, fearing that funding, or public opinion, might turn against them. But Utzon had still not completed
5883-504: The centre median. Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour , it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architecture. Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon and completed by an Australian architectural team headed by Peter Hall ,
5994-469: The chairmanship of the lord mayor to oversee the festivities. The celebrations included an array of decorated floats , a procession of passenger ships sailing below the bridge, and a Venetian Carnival . A message from a primary school in Tottenham , 515 km (320 mi) away in rural New South Wales, arrived at the bridge on the day and was presented at the opening ceremony. It had been carried all
6105-429: The clients wanted to change. Utzon's ability was never in doubt, despite questions raised by Davis Hughes, who attempted to portray Utzon as an impractical dreamer. Ove Arup actually stated that Utzon was "probably the best of any I have come across in my long experience of working with architects" and: "The Opera House could become the world's foremost contemporary masterpiece if Utzon is given his head." In 1965 Utzon
6216-472: The colony and the Mother Country". Nothing came of Greenway's suggestions, but the idea remained alive, and many further suggestions were made during the nineteenth century. In 1840, naval architect Robert Brindley proposed that a floating bridge be built. Engineer Peter Henderson produced one of the earliest known drawings of a bridge across the harbour around 1857. A suggestion for a truss bridge
6327-399: The competition were: Professor Henry Ashworth ( University of Sydney ), Cobden Parkes ( New South Wales Government Architect ); Professor Leslie Martin (Professor of Architecture of Cambridge University and architect of Royal Festival Hall 1951) and American architect Eero Saarinen . The winner, announced in Sydney on 29 January 1957, was Danish architect Jørn Utzon . Utzon's design
6438-772: The completion of the final plans. After the 1965 election of the Liberal Party, with Robert Askin becoming Premier of New South Wales , the relationship of client, architect, engineers and contractors became increasingly tense. Askin had been a "vocal critic of the project prior to gaining office." His new Minister for Public Works, Davis Hughes , was even less sympathetic. Elizabeth Farrelly , an Australian architecture critic, wrote that: at an election night dinner party in Mosman, Hughes' daughter Sue Burgoyne boasted that her father would soon sack Utzon. Hughes had no interest in art, architecture or aesthetics. A fraud, as well as
6549-419: The construction site with a crowbar and brought their own toolboxes. Workers' control was applied to the site for five weeks as the construction workers worked 35 hours a week with improved morale, more efficient organization and fewer people skipping work. The workers agreed to end their work-in when management agreed to give them a 25% wage increase, the right to elect their foremen, four weeks annual leave and
6660-449: The costs or work involved in design and construction. Tensions between the client and the design team grew further when an early start to construction was demanded despite an incomplete design. This resulted in a continuing series of delays and setbacks while various technical engineering issues were being refined. The building was unique, and the problems with the design issues and cost increases were exacerbated by commencement of work before
6771-632: The day. The radio is now in the collection of the Powerhouse Museum . The bridge itself was regarded as a triumph over Depression times, earning the nickname "the Iron Lung ", as it kept many Depression-era workers employed. In 2010, the average daily traffic included 204 trains, 160,435 vehicles and 1650 bicycles. From the Sydney CBD side, motor vehicle access to the bridge is via Grosvenor Street , Clarence Street , Kent Street ,
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#17327724017126882-619: The deafness experienced by many of the workers in later years was blamed on the project. Henri Mallard between 1930 and 1932 produced hundreds of stills and film footage which reveal at close quarters the bravery of the workers in tough Depression-era conditions. Interviews were conducted between 1982-1989 with a variety of tradesmen who worked on the building of the bridge. Among the tradesmen interviewed were drillers, riveters, concrete packers, boilermakers, riggers, ironworkers, plasterers, stonemasons, an official photographer, sleepcutters, engineers and draughtsmen. The total financial cost of
6993-417: The design and construction through his practice, while the clients wanted a system (notably drawn in sketch form by Davis Hughes) where architect, contractors, and engineers each reported to the client directly and separately. This had great implications for procurement methods and cost control, with Utzon wishing to negotiate contracts with chosen suppliers (such as Ralph Symonds for the plywood interiors) and
7104-447: The design team found a solution to the problem: the shells all being created as sections from a sphere. This solution allows arches of varying length to be cast in a common mould, and a number of arch segments of common length to be placed adjacent to one another, to form a spherical section. With whom exactly this solution originated has been the subject of some controversy. It was originally credited to Utzon. Ove Arup's letter to Ashworth,
7215-484: The detailed design and erection process of the bridge. Architects for the contractors were from the British firm John Burnet & Partners of Glasgow , Scotland. Lawrence Ennis, of Dorman Long, served as Director of Construction and primary onsite supervisor throughout the entire build, alongside Edward Judge, Dorman Long's Chief Technical Engineer, who functioned as Consulting and Designing Engineer. The building of
7326-478: The different roofs before completion. On 6 April 1962, it was estimated that the Opera House would be completed between August 1964 and March 1965. Stage III, the interiors, started with Utzon moving his entire office to Sydney in February 1963. However, there was a change of government in 1965, and the new Robert Askin government declared the project under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public Works. Due to
7437-475: The direction of flow for each traffic lane. A green arrow pointing down to a traffic lane means the lane is open. A flashing red "X" indicates the lane is closing, but is not yet in use for traffic travelling in the other direction. A static red "X" means the lane is in use for oncoming traffic. This arrangement was introduced in January 1986, replacing a slow operation where lane markers were manually moved to mark
7548-792: The eastern group. The scale of the shells was chosen to reflect the internal height requirements, with low entrance spaces, rising over the seating areas up to the high stage towers. The smaller venues (the Drama Theatre, the Playhouse and the Studio) are within the podium, beneath the Concert Hall. A smaller group of shells set to the western side of the Monumental Steps houses the Bennelong Restaurant. The podium
7659-485: The final designs. Major structural issues still remained unresolved. By 23 January 1961, work was running 47 weeks behind, mainly because of unexpected difficulties (inclement weather, unexpected difficulty diverting stormwater, construction beginning before proper construction drawings had been prepared, changes of original contract documents). Work on the podium was finally completed in February 1963. The forced early start led to significant later problems, not least of which
7770-482: The firm GBQC Architects. The grand prize was 5,000 Australian pounds . Utzon visited Sydney in 1957 to help supervise the project. His office moved to Palm Beach , Sydney in February 1963. Utzon received the Pritzker Architecture Prize , architecture's highest honour, in 2003. The Pritzker Prize citation read: There is no doubt that the Sydney Opera House is his masterpiece. It is one of
7881-501: The foyer spaces, the building's exterior is largely clad with aggregate panels composed of pink granite quarried at Tarana . Significant interior surface treatments also include off-form concrete, Australian white birch plywood supplied from Wauchope in northern New South Wales, and brush box glulam . Of the two larger spaces, the Concert Hall is in the western group of shells, the Joan Sutherland Theatre in
7992-452: The geometry of the shells, from parabolas to ellipsoids and spheres." Yuzo Mikami, a member of the design team, presents an opposite view in his book on the project, Utzon's Sphere . It is unlikely that the truth will ever be categorically known, but there is a clear consensus that the design team worked very well indeed for the first part of the project and that Utzon, Arup, and Ronald Jenkins (partner of Ove Arup and Partners responsible for
8103-454: The great iconic buildings of the 20th century, an image of great beauty that has become known throughout the world – a symbol for not only a city but a whole country and continent. The Fort Macquarie Tram Depot , occupying the site at the time of these plans, was demolished in 1958 and construction began in March 1959. The Opera House was built in four stages: stage I (1957–1959) was planning out
8214-555: The heavy loads expected. In 1924, Kathleen Butler travelled to London to set up the project office within those of Dorman, Long & Co., "attending the most difficult and technical questions and technical questions in regard to the contract, and dealing with a mass of correspondence". Bradfield and his staff were ultimately to oversee the bridge design and building process as it was executed by Dorman Long and Co, whose Consulting Engineer, Sir Ralph Freeman of Sir Douglas Fox and Partners , and his associate Georges Imbault, carried out
8325-530: The lack of collaboration caused his resignation and later described the situation as "Malice in Blunderland". In March 1966, Hughes offered him a subordinate role as "design architect" under a panel of executive architects, without any supervisory powers over the House's construction, but Utzon rejected this. Utzon left the country never to return. Following the resignation, there was great controversy about who
8436-554: The last time livestock crossed the bridge was in 1999 for the Gelbvieh Cattle Congress. The bridge is equipped for tidal flow operation , permitting the direction of traffic flow on the bridge to be altered to better suit the morning and evening peak hour traffic patterns. The bridge has eight lanes, numbered one to eight from west to east. Lanes three, four and five are reversible. One and two always flow north. Six, seven, and eight always flow south. The default
8547-475: The main hall and further stated that increasing the number of seats to 3,000 as specified in the brief would be disastrous for the acoustics. According to Peter Jones, the stage designer, Martin Carr, criticised the "shape, height and width of the stage, the physical facilities for artists, the location of the dressing rooms, the widths of doors and lifts, and the location of lighting switchboards." The Opera House
8658-476: The northwest of the central business district . An international design competition was launched by Cahill on 13 September 1955 and received 233 entries, representing architects from 32 countries. The criteria specified a large hall seating 3,000 and a small hall for 1,200 people, each to be designed for different uses, including full-scale operas, orchestral and choral concerts, mass meetings, lectures, ballet performances, and other presentations. The jury for
8769-485: The opening clearly show. In 1958 tram services across the bridge were withdrawn and the tracks replaced by two extra road lanes; these lanes are now the leftmost southbound lanes on the bridge and are separated from the other six road lanes by a median strip . Lanes 7 and 8 now connect the bridge to the elevated Cahill Expressway that carries traffic to the Eastern Distributor . In 1988, work began to build
8880-445: The opening festivities, a phenomenal number given that the entire population of Sydney at the time was estimated to be 1,256,000. There had also been numerous preparatory arrangements. On 14 March 1932, three postage stamps were issued to commemorate the imminent opening of the bridge. Several songs were composed for the occasion. In the year of the opening, there was a steep rise in babies being named Archie and Bridget in honour of
8991-521: The point of being diagrammatic. Nevertheless, as we have returned again and again to the study of these drawings, we are convinced that they present a concept of an Opera House which is capable of becoming one of the great buildings of the world. For the first stage, Utzon worked successfully with the rest of the design team and the client, but, as the project progressed, the Cahill government insisted on progressive revisions. They also did not fully appreciate
9102-580: The project over many years earned him the legacy as the father of the bridge. Bradfield's preference at the time was for a cantilever bridge without piers, and in 1916 the NSW Legislative Assembly passed a bill for such a construction, however it did not proceed as the Legislative Council rejected the legislation on the basis that the money would be better spent on the war effort. Following World War I , plans to build
9213-600: The project. As a result of the tendering process, the government received twenty proposals from six companies; on 24 March 1924 the contract was awarded to Dorman Long & Co of Middlesbrough , England well known as the contractors who later built the similar Tyne Bridge in Newcastle Upon Tyne , for an arch bridge at a quoted price of AU£ 4,217,721 11s 10d. The arch design was cheaper than alternative cantilever and suspension bridge proposals, and also provided greater rigidity making it better suited for
9324-498: The road traffic, a path for pedestrian use runs along the eastern side of the bridge, whilst a dedicated path for bicycle use runs along the western side. Between the main roadway and the western bicycle path lies the North Shore railway line . The main roadway across the bridge is known as the Bradfield Highway and is about 2.4 km (1.5 mi) long, making it one of the shortest highways in Australia. The arch
9435-500: The roof was tested on scale models in wind tunnels at University of Southampton and later NPL to establish the wind-pressure distribution around the roof shape in very high winds, which helped in the design of the roof tiles and their fixtures. The immensely complex design and construction of the shells was completed by Hornibrook Group Pty Ltd , who were also responsible for construction in Stage III. Hornibrook manufactured
9546-425: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Harbour Bridge . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Harbour_Bridge&oldid=1256940555 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
9657-408: The shells involved one of the earliest uses of computers in structural analysis , to understand the complex forces to which the shells would be subjected. The computer system was also used in the assembly of the arches. The pins in the arches were surveyed at the end of each day, and the information was entered into the computer so the next arch could be properly placed the following day. In mid-1961,
9768-471: The site of the present day Luna Park , and fabricated the steel into the girders and other required parts. The bridge is held together by six million Australian-made hand-driven rivets supplied by the McPherson company of Melbourne, the last being driven through the deck on 21 January 1932. The rivets were heated red-hot and inserted into the plates; the headless end was immediately rounded over with
9879-590: The steelwork in the towers, while day labourers manually cleaned the granite with wire brushes. The last stone of the north-west pylon was set in place on 15 January 1932, and the timber towers used to support the cranes were removed. On 19 January 1932, the first test train, a steam locomotive, safely crossed the bridge. Load testing of the bridge took place in February 1932, with the four rail tracks being loaded with as many as 96 New South Wales Government Railways steam locomotives positioned end-to-end. The bridge underwent testing for three weeks, after which it
9990-548: The steelwork of the bridge, including the arch and approach spans, is 52,800 tonnes (52,000 long tons; 58,200 short tons), with the arch itself weighing 39,000 tonnes (38,000 long tons; 43,000 short tons). About 79% of the steel, specifically those technical sections constituting the curve of the arch, was imported pre-formed from England, with the rest being sourced from the Newcastle Steelworks . On site, Dorman Long & Co set up two workshops at Milsons Point, at
10101-516: The test train of the previous day, and were discovered too late to be ejected. The construction worksheds were demolished after the bridge was completed, and the land that they were on is now occupied by Luna Park. The standards of industrial safety during construction were poor by today's standards. Sixteen workers died during construction, but surprisingly only two from falling off the bridge. Several more were injured from unsafe working practices undertaken whilst heating and inserting its rivets, and
10212-499: The two halves of the arch touched for the first time. Workers riveted both top and bottom sections of the arch together, and the arch became self-supporting, allowing the support cables to be removed. On 20 August 1930 the joining of the arches was celebrated by flying the flags of Australia and the United Kingdom from the jibs of the creeper cranes. Once the arch was completed, the creeper cranes were then worked back down
10323-410: The upper sections of each half-arch to stop them collapsing as they extended outwards. Arch construction itself began on 26 October 1928. The southern end of the bridge was worked on ahead of the northern end, to detect any errors and to help with alignment. The cranes would "creep" along the arches as they were constructed, eventually meeting up in the middle. In less than two years, on 19 August 1930,
10434-422: The way for the immensely complex geometries of some modern architecture. The design was one of the first examples of the use of computer-aided design to design complex shapes. The design techniques developed by Utzon and Arup for the Sydney Opera House have been further developed and are now used for architecture, such as works of Gehry and blobitecture , as well as most reinforced concrete structures. The design
10545-417: The way from Tottenham to the bridge by relays of school children, with the final relay being run by two children from the nearby Fort Street Boys' and Girls' schools . After the official ceremonies, the public was allowed to walk across the bridge on the deck, something that would not be repeated until the 50th anniversary celebrations. Estimates suggest that between 300,000 and one million people took part in
10656-493: Was about to cut the ribbon, a man in military uniform rode up on a horse, slashing the ribbon with his sword and opening the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the name of the people of New South Wales before the official ceremony began. He was promptly arrested. The ribbon was hurriedly retied and Lang performed the official opening ceremony and Game thereafter inaugurated the name of the bridge as Sydney Harbour Bridge and
10767-626: Was also the world's widest long-span bridge, at 48.8 m (160 ft) wide, until construction of the new Port Mann Bridge in Vancouver was completed in 2012. The southern end of the bridge is located at Dawes Point in The Rocks area, and the northern end at Milsons Point on the lower North Shore . There are six original lanes of road traffic through the main roadway, plus an additional two lanes of road traffic on its eastern side, using lanes that were formerly tram tracks . Adjacent to
10878-591: Was anyway a rough copy of the Devil's Gate bridge produced by the NSW Works Department), Bradfield subsequently attempted to claim personal credit for Dorman Long's design. This led to a bitter argument, with Dorman Long maintaining that instructing other people to produce a copy of an existing design in a document not subsequently used to specify the final construction did not constitute personal design input on Bradfield's part. This friction ultimately led to
10989-510: Was awarded an undisclosed out of court settlement. De Groot was a member of a right-wing paramilitary group called the New Guard , opposed to Lang's leftist policies and resentful of the fact that a member of the British royal family had not been asked to open the bridge. De Groot was not a member of the regular army but his uniform allowed him to blend in with the real cavalry. This incident
11100-430: Was declared safe and ready to be opened. The first trial run of an electric train over the bridge was successfully completed on both lines 11 March 1932. On 19 March 1932, 632 people were the first fare-paying passengers to cross the bridge by rail, paying a premium of 10 s. for the privilege, but they were not the first members of the public to do so. That distinction fell to a pair of clergymen who inadvertently boarded
11211-589: Was formally completed in 1973, having cost $ 102 million. H.R. "Sam" Hoare, the Hornibrook director in charge of the project, provided the following approximations in 1973: Stage I: podium Civil & Civic Pty Ltd approximately $ 5.5m. Stage II: roof shells M.R. Hornibrook (NSW) Pty Ltd approximately $ 12.5m. Stage III: completion The Hornibrook Group $ 56.5m. Separate contracts: stage equipment, stage lighting and organ $ 9.0m. Fees and other costs: $ 16.5m. The original cost and scheduling estimates in 1957 projected
11322-487: Was in the right and who was in the wrong. The Sydney Morning Herald initially opined: "No architect in the world has enjoyed greater freedom than Mr Utzon. Few clients have been more patient or more generous than the people and the Government of NSW. One would not like history to record that this partnership was brought to an end by a fit of temper on the one side or by a fit of meanness on the other." On 17 March 1966,
11433-508: Was made in 1879, and in 1880 a high-level bridge estimated at £850,000 was proposed. In 1900, the Lyne government committed to building a new Central railway station and organised a worldwide competition for the design and construction of a harbour bridge, overseen by Minister for Public Works Edward William O'Sullivan . G.E.W. Cruttwell , a London based engineer, was awarded the first prize of £1,000. Local engineer Norman Selfe submitted
11544-428: Was no repetition in any of the roof forms, the construction of precast concrete for each individual section would possibly have been even more expensive. From 1957 to 1963, the design team went through at least 12 iterations of the form of the shells trying to find an economically acceptable form (including schemes with parabolas, circular ribs and ellipsoids ) before a workable solution was completed. The design work on
11655-498: Was one of several involving Lang and the New Guard during that year. A similar ribbon-cutting ceremony on the bridge's northern side by North Sydney's mayor, Alderman Primrose, was carried out without incident. It was later discovered that Primrose was also a New Guard member but his role in and knowledge of the de Groot incident, if any, are unclear. The pair of golden scissors used in the ribbon cutting ceremonies on both sides of
11766-437: Was owed more than $ 100,000 in fees. Hughes then withheld funding so that Utzon could not even pay his own staff. The government minutes record that following several threats of resignation, Utzon finally stated to Davis Hughes: "If you don't do it, I resign." Hughes replied: "I accept your resignation. Thank you very much. Goodbye." Utzon left the project on 28 February 1966. He said that Hughes's refusal to pay him any fees and
11877-504: Was progressing toward completion when Utzon resigned. His position was principally taken over by Peter Hall , who became largely responsible for the interior design. Other persons appointed that same year to replace Utzon were E. H. Farmer as government architect, D. S. Littlemore and Lionel Todd. Following Utzon's resignation, the acoustic advisor, Lothar Cremer, confirmed to the Sydney Opera House Executive Committee (SOHEC) that Utzon's original acoustic design allowed for only 2,000 seats in
11988-620: Was selected by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen from a final cut of 30 rejects. The runner-up was a Philadelphia -based team assembled by Robert Geddes and George Qualls, both teaching at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design . They brought together a band of Penn faculty and friends from Philadelphia architectural offices, including Melvin Brecher, Warren Cunningham, Joseph Marzella, Walter Wiseman, and Leon Loschetter. Geddes, Brecher, Qualls, and Cunningham went on to found
12099-404: Was surfaced using concrete topped with asphalt. Power and telephone lines, and water, gas, and drainage pipes were also all added to the bridge in 1931. The pylons were built atop the abutment towers, with construction advancing rapidly from July 1931. Carpenters built wooden scaffolding , with concreters and masons then setting the masonry and pouring the concrete behind it. Gangers built
12210-525: Was that the podium columns were not strong enough to support the roof structure, and had to be re-built. The shells of the competition entry were originally of undefined geometry, but, early in the design process, the "shells" were perceived as a series of parabolas supported by precast concrete ribs. However, engineers Ove Arup and Partners were unable to find an acceptable solution to constructing them. The formwork for using in-situ concrete would have been prohibitively expensive, and, because there
12321-501: Was working closely with Ralph Symonds , a manufacturer of plywood based in Sydney and highly regarded by many, despite an Arup engineer warning that Ralph Symonds's "knowledge of the design stresses of plywood was extremely sketchy" and that the technical advice was "elementary to say the least and completely useless for our purposes." Australian architecture critic Elizabeth Farrelly has referred to Ove Arup's project engineer Michael Lewis as having "other agendas". By February 1966, Utzon
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