Brisbane's Story Bridge opened for operation on July 6, 1940. This date came five years after construction commenced and fourteen years after initial recommendations for a river crossing in the Kangaroo Point vicinity. Essentially, the Story Bridge was one of the then governments' three major public works projects, creating years of employment for many men during the Great Depression. The Story Bridge is the largest steel bridge designed, fabricated and constructed in Australia by Australians. The Story Bridge took five years to construct, one year longer than planned. Queenslander, Dr John Bradfield was Consulting Engineer. His design team prepared 600 working drawings. Currently the bridge is repainted every 7 years using 17,500 litres of paint. There is approximately 105,000 square metres of painted steel surfaces.
