ANZAC Bridge
Encyclopedia
Roads and Traffic Authority
The Roads and Traffic Authority is a former New South Wales government agency that was responsible for major road infrastructure, licensing of drivers, and registration of motor vehicles. The RTA directly managed State roads and provided funding to local councils for regional and local roads...
), replacing the earlier Glebe Island Bridge, is a large cable-stayed bridge
Cable-stayed bridge
A cable-stayed bridge is a bridge that consists of one or more columns , with cables supporting the bridge deck....
spanning Johnstons Bay between Pyrmont
Pyrmont, New South Wales
Pyrmont is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Pyrmont is located 2 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney...
and Glebe Island (part of the suburb of Rozelle
Rozelle, New South Wales
Rozelle is a suburb in the inner west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 4 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt....
) in proximity to the central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The bridge forms part of the Western Distributor
Western Distributor
The Western Distributor is a primarily elevated small freeway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia that links Victoria Road, White Bay , with the Bradfield Highway at the southern end of the Sydney Harbour Bridge...
freeway leading from the Sydney CBD and Cross City Tunnel to the suburbs of the Inner West
Inner West (Sydney)
The Inner West is a general term which is used to describe the metropolitan area directly to the west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia...
and Northern Sydney.
Glebe Island Bridge
There have been two bridges over Johnstons Bay prior to the construction of the ANZAC Bridge.The first bridge was constructed as part of a project to move the abattoirs out of central Sydney, and to construct public abattoirs at Glebe Island. The first pile of the original bridge was driven in October 1860. The bridge was opened in 1862 and was a timber beam bridge
Beam bridge
Beam bridges are the most simple of structural forms being supported by an abutment at each end of the deck. No moments are transferred through the support hence their structural type is known as simply supported....
1,045 ft 5 in. (318.6 m) long and 28 feet (8.5 m) wide with a 40 feet (12.2 m) swing section on the eastern side. It replaced a double steam punt crossing.
The second Glebe Island bridge was an electrically operated swing bridge
Swing bridge
A swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its centre of gravity, about which the turning span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right...
opened in 1903, the year after the opening of the new Pyrmont Bridge
Pyrmont Bridge
The Pyrmont Bridge is a swing bridge over Cockle Bay in Darling Harbour in Sydney, Australia.-History and description:The first Pyrmont Bridge was opened on 17 March 1858, and was a wooden pile bridge with a iron centre swing span...
over Sydney's Darling Harbour. The bridge was designed by Percy Allan
Percy Allan
Percy Allan was a civil engineer who had responsibility for the design of a large number of public works in New South Wales, including the design of 583 bridges.- Early life :...
of the New South Wales Public Works Department who also designed the Pyrmont Bridge
Pyrmont Bridge
The Pyrmont Bridge is a swing bridge over Cockle Bay in Darling Harbour in Sydney, Australia.-History and description:The first Pyrmont Bridge was opened on 17 March 1858, and was a wooden pile bridge with a iron centre swing span...
. Delays due to increasing traffic which were exacerbated by having to close a major arterial road to allow the movement of shipping into Blackwattle Bay
Blackwattle Bay
Blackwattle Bay is a bay located to the south east of Glebe Island and east of Rozelle Bay on Sydney Harbour. The bay was named in 1788 after the Black Wattle tree found at the bay, which was used for housing construction....
led to the construction of the present-day ANZAC bridge. The 1903 bridge is still standing (2011), but there is no access to pedestrians or vehicular traffic.
ANZAC Bridge
Valemus
Lend Lease Infrastructure is the second largest construction and engineering specialist business in Australia and a division of Lend Lease Group....
and opened on December 3, 1995,.
The bridge was given its current name on Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognized as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth...
in 1998 to honour the memory of the soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force that was formed in Egypt in 1915 and operated during the Battle of Gallipoli. General William Birdwood commanded the corps, which comprised troops from the First Australian Imperial...
(ANZAC) who served in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. An Australian Flag
Flag of Australia
The flag of Australia is a defaced Blue Ensign: a blue field with the Union Flag in the canton , and a large white seven-pointed star known as the Commonwealth Star in the lower hoist quarter...
flies atop the eastern pylon and a New Zealand Flag
Flag of New Zealand
The flag of New Zealand is a defaced Blue Ensign with the Union Flag in the canton, and four red stars with white borders to the right. The stars represent the constellation of Crux, the Southern Cross....
flies atop the western pylon. A bronze memorial statue of an Australian ANZAC soldier ("digger") holding a Lee Enfield rifle in the "rest on arms reverse" drill position was placed on the western end of the bridge on ANZAC Day
ANZAC Day
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...
in 2000. A statue of a New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
soldier was added to a plinth across the road from the Australian Digger, facing towards the east, and was unveiled by Prime Minister of New Zealand
Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...
Helen Clark
Helen Clark
Helen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ is a New Zealand political figure who was the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008...
in the presence of Premier of New South Wales Morris Iemma
Morris Iemma
Morris Iemma , is a former Australian politician and 40th Premier of New South Wales, succeeding Bob Carr after he resigned on 3 August 2005. Iemma led the Australian Labor Party to victory in the 2007 election before resigning as Premier on 5 September 2008, and as a Member of Parliament on 19...
on Sunday 27 April 2008.
Description
The ANZAC Bridge is the longest span cable-stayed bridge in Australia. The bridge is 32.2 metres (105.6 ft) wide and the main span is 345 metres (1,131.9 ft) long. The reinforced concrete pylons are 120 metres (393.7 ft) high and support the deck by two planes of stay cables. Initially the stay cables were plagued by vibrations which have since been resolved by the addition of thin stabilising cables between the stay cables.There is a pedestrian path / bikeway that runs along the northern side of the bridge, making possible a leisurely 30-40 minute walk from Glebe Point Road, down Bridge Road, over the Bridge and round Blackwattle Bay back to Glebe Point Road.
The bridge was criticised by some as over-engineered because its size and cost were justified in order to permit shipping into Johnstons Bay. However, this bay ceased to have substantial use for shipping soon after construction was completed.
The bridge is now regularly patrolled by security guards as a counter-terrorism measure. Security cameras also monitor the walkway
Popular culture
The original bridge is mentioned in the first line of the You Am IYou Am I
You Am I are an Australian alternative rock band, fronted by vocalist/guitarist and main songwriter Tim Rogers. They were the first Australian band to have three albums successively debut at #1 on the ARIA Charts, and are renowned for their live performances.-History:Tim Rogers formed the first...
song "Purple Sneakers
Purple Sneakers
"Purple Sneakers" is the third single from the album Hi Fi Way by Australian rock band You Am I. It was released in 1995 and reached number 24 in the 1995 Triple J Hottest 100.-Track listing:# "Purple Sneakers" – 3:30# "Sci-Fi Way" - 2:42...
", which was first released in 1995. As it was not named "ANZAC Bridge" at the time, Tim Rogers
Tim Rogers
Tim Rogers is the frontman of Australian rock band You Am I. He is also a solo artist, as well as having fronted and released albums with bands The Twin Set and The Temperance Union.-History:...
' lyric is "Had a scratch only you could itch / underneath the Glebe Point bridge".