nPostednon March 19, 2015
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nHappynbirthday to a bridge?
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nSure!nWhy not?
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nThisnarched bridge is iconic and, along with the nearby Sydney OperanHouse, gains instant recognition among millions of people all overnthe world as being in Sydney, Australia.
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nSomenpeople call it “The Coathanger,” because of the arched design,nbut Sydneysiders generally just call it “The Bridge.”
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nFromnthe date the bridge was opened on this date in 1932 until 2012, itnwas the world’s widest long-span bridge, and it remains the sixthnlongest spanning-arch bridge and the Number 1 tallest steel archnbridge in the world.
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nWhennyou see an arched bridge, do you ever wonder how on earth engineersnmanage to make it? Here are two things that helped make the SydneynHarbor Bridge:
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nTunnelsn were dug on each shore. Steel cables passed through these tunnelsn and attached to the top portions of each half-arch to stop them fromn collapsing as they extended outwards towards one another.
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n“Creepern cranes” were erected on each side of the bridge. These cranes weren fitted with a “cradle” that could lift materials and men inton position. Then the cranes would “creep” along the arches as theyn were built further and further out across the water, slowly closingn the gap between.
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nThenSydney Harbor Bridge was begun in July of 1923. Finally, in August ofn1930, the two halves of the arch finally touched each other. Thenbridge was completed in January of 1932.
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nYounmay wonder why the bridge builders waited two months before openingnthe bridge.
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nButnof course the bridge had to be tested!
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nOnnJanuary 19, 1932, the first test train safely crossed the bridge. InnFebruary, 96 steam locomotives were positioned end-to-end on thentracks for a load test.
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nEventually, after three weeks of testing, thenbridge was declared safe for use, and the work sheds were demolishednand the area cleaned up to get ready for the official opening.
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nYounknow how opening ceremonies are, right? They’re….ceremonious!
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nDignitariesnwere invited, people gave speeches, and there was a lovely ribbonnready for the Labor Premier of New South Wales, Jack Lang, to cut.
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| The “some guy in a military uniform” turned out to be a man named Francis de Groot. Presumably he did NOT say, “I am Groot!” |
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nJustnbefore Lang cut the ribbon, though, some guy in a military uniformnrode up on a horse and slashed the ribbon with his sword, apparentlyndeclaring the bridge open in the name of ordinary people.
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nThenman was arrested, the ribbon was retied, and Premier Lang cut itnagain—and the bridge was officially open.
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nAlsonon this date:
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nSaintnJoseph’s Day in Valencia, Spain
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nBattlenof March 19 in the Dominican Republic
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nSwallowsnDay at Mission San Juan Capistrano
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nAnniversarynof the discovery of electric eels
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
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n Marchn holidays
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n Historicaln anniversaries in March
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nApriln holidays
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nApriln birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in April
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