Sydney Harbour Bridge Load testing of the bridge took place in February 1932, with the four rail tracks being loaded with as many as 96 steam locomotives positioned end-to-end. The bridge underwent testing for three weeks, after which it was declared safe and ready to be opened. 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
Bayonne Bridge the ribbon was sent to Australia for the ribbon-cutting of the Sydney Harbour Bridge four months later. After the ceremony in Sydney, the scissor blades were separated and one was sent back to the Port Authority. "Time" referred to the symmetric detail of the bridge as "impressive and haunting," while the commune of Bayonne in France sent a congratulatory telegram. When the Bayonne Bridge opened, it was the longest steel arch bridge in the world, barely surpassing its more massive-arched "sister bridge" in Australia—the Sydney Harbour Bridge—by and taking the distinction from the Hell Gate Bridge a few miles to