![\"Matt](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/6e59408c5a9618721b20220c12633fca370bbc6a.png\")
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January 6, 2026 \u2014 2:00am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n After a long wait, a $39 million cycle ramp at the northern end of the Sydney Harbour Bridge opens on Tuesday, ending riders\u2019 frustration at having to lug bikes up and down 55 stairs to cross the landmark.<\/p>\n But for those who made it a reality, it is much more than a cycle ramp.<\/p>\n Scott Badham of Aspect Studios \u2013 lead designer on the project \u2013 said the ramp had to be special because it tied into the famed bridge and a heritage park at Milsons Point.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just a cycle ramp. It\u2019s a beautifully crafted piece of infrastructure,\u201d Badham, an avid cyclist, said.<\/p>\n The 170-metre-long ramp curves around the entrance to Milsons Point Station, its skeletal form making it a challenge to build.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no straight lines on the geometry of the ramp. The whole thing is curved,\u201d Badham said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it also means you end up with this beautiful, snaky, kind of sinuous form through the park that threads from existing infrastructure down into the park.\u201d<\/p>\n The opening of the three-metre-wide ramp will create a continuous north-south route across the Harbour Bridge, linking into cycleways in the central city via Kent Street, out to Sydney\u2019s east via the Oxford Street bike path<\/a> and to the west via the Anzac Bridge.<\/p>\n At the northern end, the elevated ramp connects to a new cycle route along Alfred Street South to Middlemiss Street at North Sydney, including new crossings on Alfred Street South and Lavender Street.<\/p>\n Some 1500 bronze balustrades for the ramp, produced mainly in western Sydney, have been created from the same alloy type as the Sydney Opera House bronze, and the new structure is painted in the heritage-listed Harbour Bridge grey.<\/p>\n About 130,000 granite pavers were used to create an artwork by Aboriginal artists Jason Wing and Maddie Gibbs that depicts interconnected eels. The eels, which honour the connection to the area of the Gadigal and Cammeraygal people, run the length of the ramp.<\/p>\n The ramp\u2019s steepest gradient is 5 per cent, which makes it a gentle climb for cyclists. Lighting underneath can be turned to any colour but will mostly be set to a warm glow.<\/p>\n The opening follows years of opposition from some Milsons Point residents who had argued that the \u201clinear\u201d structure for the ramp would compromise the bridge\u2019s heritage<\/a> and encroach on Bradfield Park. Once approved, however, the ramp\u2019s construction took about 13 months.<\/p>\n Related Article Transport Minister John Graham said the ramp was a long-overdue improvement for cyclists, while becoming an architecturally sensitive addition to renowned engineer John Bradfield\u2019s famous Coathanger.<\/p>\n \u201cJohn Bradfield\u2019s 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,\u201d he said. \u201cBike traffic across the Harbour Bridge has surged in recent years, and this ramp will unlock even more by delivering equality of access.\u201d<\/p>\n The average number of cyclists crossing the bridge has risen by nearly 40 per cent over the past few years to 1221 a day in 2025, and Transport for NSW expects that figure to double after the ramp\u2019s opening.<\/p>\n Transport for NSW project manager Chris Gibbons said the ramp\u2019s design had been sensitive to its location.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not every day that you get to build something in such a unique, special area with so much history and character,\u201d he said. \u201cThe design has been really sensitive towards that, complementing and being designed delicately around Milsons Point Station entrance.\u201d<\/p>\n An eight-metre section of parapet \u2013 or wall \u2013 had to be removed from the bridge to allow cyclists to weave their way onto the ramp. It was craned off the bridge and relocated to a spot near the bottom of the ramp, in a nod to the bridge\u2019s history.<\/p>\n British tourists Oscar Tully and Libby McNavoe, who navigated the 55 stairs on Monday on their way from the central city to Manly, said the new addition to the Harbour Bridge could encourage more people to cycle. \u201cHonestly, a ramp could be amazing,\u201d Tully said.<\/p>\n Cyclists will still have the option to use the stairs, which will remain open. A security guard will be at the bottom of the ramp to ensure it is used by cyclists only.<\/p>\n Scores of other cycleways have been completed in Sydney over the past year, including the six-kilometre GreenWay<\/a> in the inner west and five kilometres of shared pathways in Kogarah as part of the M6 motorway<\/a> project. A new cyclepath at the western end of Oxford Street<\/a> in the central city has proven popular, averaging 3428 cyclists a day in November.<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Aspect](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/eaaa1d59ebe2584d29b4bc30a597935b6b707039.jpeg\")
Aspect Studios\u2019 Scott Badham (left) and Jason Packenham test the ramp ahead of its opening.James Brickwood<\/p>\n![\"British](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/933800e69f6399547f9e5d012fa95ebf023654ec.jpeg\")
British tourists Oscar Tully and Libby McNavoe navigate the 55 steps on their way to Manly from central Sydney on Monday.James Brickwood<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/e926ff228009dd8cfe931bd39fa027f5121e98b8.jpeg\")
The ramp features 130,000 granite pavers that were laid to form an intertwining eels artwork.James Brickwood<\/p>\n![\"Norman](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/580492cb1720ba7a0e4a3df6b78471600fbfbeff.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Hundreds](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ba188d1df34a3c239bcb0242e587020daf2e377f.jpeg\")
Hundreds of e-bikes were held in a fenced-off area in front of St Mary\u2019s Cathedral over New Year\u2019s.Steven Siewert<\/p>\n