For residents of Sydney, Australia, and international visitors, biking in Sydney has recently become more fun and a lot easier. Why? The Sydney Harbour Bridge Cycleway ramp has recently opened for bikers, delivering an essential link in Sydney’s cycling network across one of the city’s most iconic landmarks.

Funded and delivered by New South Wales Government, a design team led by ASPECT Studios was selected as the winner of a design competition for the bridge cycleway, a major addition to Sydney Harbour Bridge, with a design that includes a serpentine cycleway.

© Brett Boardman

The new two-wheel travel route delivers a continuous, step-free connection between the city and North Sydney. This piece of city-shaping infrastructure makes cycling across the harbor a safe and inclusive experience.

Accessing the bridge previously required cyclists to dismount and carry bikes up or down 55 steps. Officially opened in January 2026, the almost 600-foot-long, 10-foot-wide bike cycleway marks the culmination of decades of advocacy, planning and support from the NSW Government. The design responds directly to the main challenge of delivering a comfortable and accessible everyday cycling experience while integrating contemporary infrastructure with Sydney Harbour Bridge’s heritage and cultural surroundings.

The ramp weaves together state-of-the-art digital engineering and ancient craft traditions, pairing parametric design with time-honored methods of producing customized metalwork. A continuous bronze balustrade, conceived as a woven ribbon, wraps around the cycleway. Designed to achieve a naturally aged finish, it references both Sydney Harbour Bridge’s industrial palette and the bronze detailing of Sydney Opera House.

© Ruth Gold

Supporting columns are carefully positioned to avoid disruption to key pedestrian routes and sightlines. The ramp itself is inspired by aircraft wing design. Its lightweight steel structure is highly efficient, allowing it to span longer distances with less material.

Public domain upgrades extend beyond the cycling path and include new footpaths, pedestrian crossings, a generous paved plaza with seating, and water and bike-repair facilities, creating a welcoming civic space.

Embedded within the ramp is a significant public artwork by Jason Wing and Maddison Gibbs, which speaks to movement, connection and the country at this important harbor crossing. The paving design depicts two eels migrating between saltwater and freshwater, a cultural narrative that recognizes Sydney Harbour Bridge traversing a path of confluence and connection between Gadigal peoples’ land to the south and Cammeraygal heritage land to the north.

© Brett Boardman

After crossing the harbor, pedaling and enjoyment time doesn’t have to end, as Oxford Street Cycleway meets the new cycleway and continues out to the west via ANZAC Bridge. The Anzac serves as the bike link between Sydney’s Central Business District and the western suburbs. Opened in December 1995, the Anzac is the longest cable-stayed bridge in Australia.

The bridge cycleway ramp will make it easier to access Sydney’s only cross-harbor bike route east of Iron Cove and result in more bike traffic from the city’s northeast. The ramp is the latest in a string of recent bike infrastructure around Sydney, including the completion of the GreenWay and the opening of Oxford Street Cycleway.

Since opening, The Sydney Harbour Bridge cycleway has become the most heavily biked path used in the city, with approximately 2,000 bike trips taken each weekday, and more on weekends.

The design team included design partners Collins and Turner, Yerrabingin, Design 5 Architects, Eckersley O’ Callaghan, JMT Consulting Design, Electrolight and Urban Design Studio, with engineering and industrial design by Eckersley O’Callaghan and heritage architecture and interpretation by Design 5 Architects.