Sydney Harbour Bridge, in New South Wales, is Australia’s most famous bridge and one of the longest single-span bridges in the world. Including its approach spans, it is 3,770 feet (1,149) meters long. It stretches across Sydney Harbour from Dawes Point in the south to Milsons Point in the north.
The chief section of the bridge is its central arch, which is 1,650 feet (503 meters) long. The top of this arch is 440 feet (134 meters) above sea level. The clearance under the bridge is 170 feet (52 meters). The deck accommodates eight lanes of road traffic, two railways, and two footpaths. The bridge was designed by Sir Ralph Freeman, an English engineer. An Australian engineer, John Job Crew Bradfield, supervised the building.
In 1815, the Australian architect Francis Greenway proposed the construction of a bridge linking the northern and southern shores of Sydney Harbour. However, the state government did not authorize the building of a bridge until 1922. Work on the bridge symbolically began with a 1923 ceremony. However, a contract was not awarded and signed until 1924. Actual construction began in 1925. New South Wales Premier John Thomas Lang declared the bridge open on March 19, 1932. The bridge has played an important role in the development of Sydney Harbour’s northern shore. 
