One of Brisbane's most treasured landmarks, the Story Bridge can be seen throughout the city. We love the bridge as much as anyone and so, the safety apparatus we've added for the climb are next to invisible to the average observer. On July 6th, 1940 Brisbane's Story Bridge opened for operation. It took five years to construct and a river crossing near Kangaroo Point had first been recommended 14 years before the bridge was finally completed. One of the major reasons for building the Story Bridge was actually employment. During the Great Depression, the construction effort provided years of employment for many men as one of the then governments' three public works projects.

Did you know?

The Story Bridge is the largest steel bridge designed, fabricated and constructed in Australia by Australians. 

 Historical Facts

  • Construction took five years, one year longer than planned.
  • Queenslander, Dr John Bradfield was Consulting Engineer. His design team prepared 600 working drawings. 
  • The Story Bridge project cost £1,492,000. 
  • Seven years later, the State Government sold the Story Bridge to the Brisbane City Council for £750,000. 
  • Sadly, four men lost their lives during construction.

Bridge Specifications

  • The Bridge is 1,072 metres long from the southern to northern anchor piers.  
  • The river span is 282 metres long.  
  • The Bridge’s summit is 74 metres to ground, similar in height to a 22-story building.  
  • The width of the Bridge is 24 metres, including footpaths. 
  • The river clearance at low tide is 35 metres, or 10-stories.

Construction Facts

  • 39,100 cubic metres were excavated for foundations. 
  • 41,250 cubic metres of concrete used  
  • 12,000 tonnes of structural steel used  
  • 1,650 tonnes of reinforcing steel used  
  • 1,500,000 rivets were used to construct the bridge.

Maintenance

  • Currently the bridge is repainted every 7 years using 17,500 litres of paint 
  • There is approximately 105,000 square metres of painted steel surfaces.