There were two bridges over Johnstons Bay before the construction of the Anzac Bridge. The first bridge was constructed as part of a project to move the abattoirs out of central Sydney, and to construct public abattoirs at Glebe Island. The first pile of the original bridge was driven in October 1860. The bridge was opened in 1862 and was a timber beam bridge long and wide with a swing section on the eastern side. It replaced a double steam punt crossing. The second Glebe Island Bridge was an electrically operated swing bridge opened in 1903, the year after the opening of the new Pyrmont Bridge over Sydney's Darling Harbour, which has a similar design. The bridge was designed by Percy Allan of the New South Wales Public Works Department who also designed the Pyrmont Bridge. Delays due to increasing traffic, which were exacerbated by having to close a major arterial road to allow the movement of shipping into Blackwattle Bay, led to the construction of the present-day Anzac Bridge. The 1903 bridge is still standing, but there is no access to pedestrians or vehicular traffic.
The bridge is wide and the main span is long. The reinforced concrete pylons are high and support the deck by two planes of stay cables. Initially the stay cables were plagued by vibrations which have since been resolved by the addition of thin stabilising cables between the stay cables. There is a grade-separated shared pedestrianfootpath and cycleway located on the northern side of the bridge, making possible a leisurely 30-to-40-minute walk from Glebe Point Road, down Bridge Road, over the bridge and round Blackwattle Bay back to Glebe Point Road. The bridge can carry a maximum of 180,000 cars per day. It reached its maximum capacity in 2002, only seven years after it was finished. The bridge is regularly patrolled by security guards as a counter-terrorism measure. Security cameras also monitor the walkway. The bridge has a speed limit of : it was reduced from in January 2005. Also prior to that date, the bridge had seven traffic lanes. Originally, there were bus stops at the western end of the bridge, but they were removed because buses pulling out from the stops created a hazard as they merged with other traffic moving at the speed limit. The Australian Anzac statue on the northern side of the bridge is adjacent to the former city-bound bus stop; the New Zealand Anzac statue was installed within the ramp area of the former stop on the southern side.
The bridge has been used in a number of artistic works including:
The bridge was used in the Looking for Alibrandi movie scene where the title character, Josephine Alibrandi, and her date Jacob Coote rode across the bridge on Jacob's motorcycle.
Deni Hines' song "It's Alright" features the nearly completed bridge in the music video group dance sequences, the filming of which taking place a few months before the bridge's December 1995 opening.
You Am I's song "Purple Sneakers" from the band's album Hi Fi Way opens with the lyric "Had a scratch only you could itch, underneath the Glebe Point bridge". The Glebe Island Bridge was still under construction when Tim Rogers wrote and recorded the song in 1994, with the bridge's name change to 'Anzac Bridge' not occurring until 1998.
