The Argyle Cut was hewn by convicts through the sandstone ridge of The Rocks to connect Sydney Cove with Darling Harbour and Millers Point. It was started in 1843 by convicts with hammers and chisels, and completed in 1867 with the help of explosives. For some time until 1900 it was the underground home of thugs, petty gangsters and rats.
Later, as part of the building of the Bradfield Highway in the 1920s, the Argyle Cut was widened and construction was completed in 1932. The Bradfield Highway forms the approach to the Sydney Harbour Bridge over Argyle Cut.