The Glebe Island Bridge is a heritage-listed disused swing Allan truss road bridge that carried Victoria Road (as Bank Street) across Johnstons Bay, located in the inner city Sydney suburb of Pyrmont in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia.

In the mid-1800s, it was a mix of commerce, retail, residences, manufacturing works and factories, with the Botanic Gardens and Domain to the east, port activities to the west and north and road outlets at its southern border leading to the inner western suburbs via the Parramatta Road, which was also the beginning of the Great Western Highway.

[1] The first Glebe Island Bridge was a private toll-bridge completed in 1862 and was a timber beam viaduct with a small, one arm, hand-cranked swing-span tucked into the Pyrmont shore.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported in September 1890:[1] "The Departmental Board appointed by the Minister for Public Works nearly a year ago to consider the desirability of constructing new bridges to replace the present Pyrmont and Glebe Island bridges ... has now furnished the Minister with a lengthy report on the subject.

[1] For both sites, Allan designed an electrically-operated swing bridge, the earliest use of electrical power for this purpose in Australia.

Over 9,072 tonnes (10,000 short tons) of mud was dredged to establish the causeway and the fill was obtained by cutting down what was left of the hillock of Glebe Island, producing 5.3 hectares (13 acres) of flat land for railway yards and 853 metres (2,799 ft) of deepwater frontage for wharfage.

The use of steel trusses for the approach spans had been part of Allan's original design for the Pyrmont Bridge but the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works directed that this material be replaced with timber, presumably as a cost-cutting measure.

When Glebe Island Bridge was built, Allan's original specification was reinstated (perhaps owing to the use of built-up embankments and shorter approach spans, providing a more economical outcome).

[1] The contractor for construction was H. McKenzie and Sons and the bridge was opened on 1 July 1903 by Miss Lily See, daughter of Premier, Sir John See.

A new AC supply was obtained from the local reticulated network and a set of rectifiers was installed in a small kiosk erected on the north east side of the bridge.

City of Sydney Council and the community groups lobbied the state government to restore the structure and reopen the bridge for pedestrian and cyclists.

[11] In 2015, it was suggested the bridge could be reused to extend the Inner West Light Rail as part of the White Bay redevelopment.

The central swing span is supported by a massive pivot pier, founded on a nest of timber piles capped by concrete, on which it can rotate through ninety degrees to allow passage of maritime traffic.

[1] Traffic was controlled by lights and a pair of timber swing-gates on either end which were electronically interlocked to ensure that the bridge cannot open until the gates are closed.

Today Pyrmont Bridge serves as a strategic link to the CBD despite initial attempts to demolish the structure as part of the Darling Harbour redevelopment in the late 1980s.

Similarly, its twin possesses equal value as a strategic transport link from Glebe Island to the city.

[1] Glebe Island Bridge was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 29 November 2013 having satisfied the following criteria.

[1] The Glebe Island Bridge has been an important item of infrastructure in the history of Sydney, Australia's famous harbour city and the capital of New South Wales, for over 90 years.

The history of this crossing, going back to 1892, is closely associated with the economic and social development of Sydney at the end of the 19th century.

[1] The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.

[1] The design of the Glebe Island Bridge represents the pinnacle of nineteenth century engineering and material technology, prior to the development of locally produced modern steel.

[1] Aesthetically, the bridge is an impressive structure, sited in the middle of a wide and busy waterway, giving it landmark qualities that are apparent from numerous vantage points around Sydney Harbour.

The Glebe Island Bridge is valued by the Sydney community for its significant contribution to the social and commercial development of Sydney and the inner western suburbs, as demonstrated by the public statements and interest in its conservation demonstrated in the broad-ranging community consultation undertaken for the Bays Precinct by the NSW Government.

The bridge is a fine example of late nineteenth and early twentieth century technology, and is almost completely in original condition.

Opening bridges have been a crucial factor in the economic development of NSW since the late nineteenth century, with its high-level of industrialisation but relatively low population levels on an international scale.