A rare addition to the Sydney Harbour Bridge is expected to encourage a surge in north-south bike traffic as the Bridge cycleway ramp opens today. The ramp ends the decades-long challenge of bike riders being forced to lug their bikes up 55 stairs at the northern end of the famous Coathanger. The stairs have discouraged older cyclists and those with heavier e-bikes from crossing the harbour. The cycleway ramp is a rare addition to the Heritage-listed bridge and fills a major gap in Sydney’s cycling path infrastructure. The three-metre-wide ramp creates a continuous north-south route across the Harbour Bridge with links into the CBD via Kent Street, out to Sydney’s east via the Oxford Street Cycleway and to the west via the ANZAC Bridge. It has been carefully designed to fit its surrounds at Bradfield Park and Milsons Point Station, with granite sourced from Moruya, the same location the granite for the Harbour Bridge pylons came from, and bronze balustrades which reflect elements of the Sydney Opera House. The 1500 bronze balustrades for the ramp, produced mainly in Western Sydney, have been made from the same alloy type as the Sydney Opera House bronze and the ramp is being painted in the heritage-listed Sydney Harbour Bridge Grey. The ramp connects to a new cycle route extending along Alfred Street South to Middlemiss Street at North Sydney including new crossings on Alfred Street South and Lavender Street. About 130,000 granite pavers have created an intertwining eels artwork by Aboriginal artists Jason Wing and Maddie Gibbs. The eels, which honour the connection to the area of the Gadigal and Cammeraygal people, go north and south. Minister for Transport John Graham said: “John Bradfield’s original vision for the Harbour Bridge incorporated space for bicycles on the deck of the Bridge, but they were squeezed out by the growth of vehicle traffic by 1962. “This ramp is a long-overdue improvement for cyclists while being an architecturally sensitive addition to Bradfield’s famous Coathanger. “Bike traffic across the Harbour Bridge has surged in recent years and this ramp will unlock even more by delivering equality of access. “I want to thank the team of designers, engineer and construction workers who have created a ramp that truly fits its stunning surrounds.”