With so much happening with Brisbane infrastructure it can be hard to keep up. So here’s a ‘Cook’s tour’ of the latest:
The opening this month of Clem 7 is a significant milestone for a lot of reasons. It’s the first piece of the Lord Mayor’s “TransApex” plan, and this 4.8km tunnel is the first Brisbane river crossing for cars since 1986. Almost a quarter of a century!
The media write about the impact on cross-city travel, speeding travel times. But there’s also major benefits to the live-ability for inner city residents and property owners. Clem 7 will take 60,000 cars a day away from surface roads and move them underground. Residents of Kangaroo Point, Woolloongabba and South Brisbane will have less noise and less congestion.
The next piece of the Newman TransApex Pie is the Hale Street Link, a bridge between South Brisbane and Milton that’s due to open in just 2 months time. This one will help free up the traffic bottlenecks that occur in so many near-CBD junctions. Two new cross river crossings will be complete – amazing how things can actually get done!
Airport Link is the third major project, now being run by the state government, and with tunnel boring underway as we write. This 6.7km roadway will start at Bowen Hills, linking the Clem 7 and Inner City Bypass to out near the airport. Residents in suburbs like Clayfield, Windsor and Lutwyche will have direct and immediate benefit when it opens in 2012.
Suburbs like Auchenflower and Milton can often feel like thoroughfares for major traffic routes Milton Road and Coronation Drive. But with the Northern Link soon to burrow from the Western Freeway at Toowong and popping back up at Kelvin Grove to link with the Inner City Bypass, there’ll be some relief for these inner west residents. Northern Link is due to start construction this year and wrap up in 2014.
The fifth and final TransApex project is the East West Link. This tunnel would link the M1 at Buranda with the Western Freeway at Toowong, bypassing the West End peninsula to offer a significant cross-city link. Even the inner-south’s anti-development movement must be able to see the benefits of this one. Officially it appears East West is on hold for some years to come…
Savvy property owners and investors watch infrastructure changes with interest. There’s plenty on this list to keep us all busy for the next few years.
Last night, the Lord Mayor, Campbell Newman spoke to Business South Bank members at West End’s Greek Club. Have a listen to his very positive view point on the future of Brisbane and its expected population growth rates. He briefly addresses urban sprawl and the planning process currently underway for developing West End including an update on the City Glider, Hale Street (Go Between) Bridge and future City Cat stops.
Okay so that’s just our choice. The Hale Street Link is up for renaming ahead of its 2010 completion and the public input on naming ideas has been whittled down to a shortlist. Visit www.NameThatBridge.com to cast your vote.
There’s some notable people as suggestions on the list but we like the idea of honouring Australia’s first indigenous federal pollie, Neville Bonner. The location of the bridge has a strong Aboriginal history and Bonner played a huge role in bringing together Australians of all backgrounds.
A monarchist and Liberal Party member, he was a suit-wearing indigenous rights activist, Australian of the Year and a farm labourer. A man who stood up for what he believed, strong and unwavering. He crossed so many social ‘divides’ it seems fitting to name a river crossing after him.
I’ve just seen this flyer announcing public information sessions held by our local Gabba Ward Council member, Cr Helen Abrahams, in protest against the “South Brisbane Riverside Neighbourhood Plan” claiming it will destroy West End. It’s certainly going to be a heated debate.
As a local agent I’ve seen continued buyer demand in South Brisbane and I suspect this will continue, largely as a result of big infrastructure projects like the Hale Street Link, The Kurilpa Bridge and the redevelopment of the Brisbane Convention Centre. Obviously changes to council policy that make further residential and commercial development more viable will further add to the prosperity of all local property owners.
Lets hope we will see a balanced debate by both Council and those who disapprove of the changes.
Work is continuing at a rapid rate on the Hale Street Link. I was at Vue Apartments on Coronation Drive today and took this photo from the northern side of the river looking back into South Brisbane. The sheer size of the half completed bridge continues to blow my mind. Lets cross our fingers that traffic congestion along Peel and Grey Streets will be equally impressive when the new bridge opens in mid 2010.
We just happened to see the aftermath of a traffic accident this afternoon at the intersection of Ernest & Cordelia Streets in South Brisbane.With so much traffic along Cordelia Street (more to come post Hale Street link!) and plenty who frequently run the red light, it’s little wonder we don’t see more carnage at this busy intersection. Luckily both drivers were okay (and even luckier the Commodore wasn’t a Hansen’s cement truck!)
a busy construction site... the Hale Street Link underway today
The bridge over the Brisbane River (from Milton to South Brisbane) will open in 2010 and Council has decided it’s time for us to give it a name. Submissions close on the 3rd of August and there has already been over 560 suggestions including the “River City”, “Riverfestival” and even the “Wally Lewis” Bridge. To make your own suggestions (or to laugh at some of the odd ones), log on to www.namethatbridge.com
Our team love their football as much as the next red-blooded Queenslander…. but the decision to run today’s Bronco’s game at an earlier timeslot is a shocker and will throw Brisbane’s inner city traffic into complete chaos. Suncorp Stadium is smack bang in the middle of the city’s road network, with major arterials of the Inner City Bypass, Coronation Drive and Milton Road all converging near the ground.
Friday’s are always hectic in our traffic, people racing to get to the pub/beach/home, and a Broncos home game puts 50,000 spectators into the mix. The usual kick-off of 7.30pm does let most commuters avoid the rush though.
Today? It’s raining (so more cars), the Hale Street Link is under construction and is limiting movements in the area – and Channel 9 have asked for the game to run at 6.30pm. Why? They want to run it in prime time for Sydney viewers! Brisbane workers crawling home might not be smiling.
We visited the Hale Street Link office today and inspected the visitor information centre. When complete, the 4 lane structure will connect Milton to South Brisbane. As Brisbane infrastructure grows rapidly there is much to learn and we think this is a great way for locals to find out what’s going on in their neighborhood. The visitor centre is open Monday to Friday 8-5pm and is located at85 Montague Road South Brisbane.
If your eyes glaze over when you hear the words “infrastructure” and “construction methodology” you might not be keeping up with all the changes to our major roads, and the possible property benefits that could flow on. So here’s the latest:
“Clem 7″ is the $3billion, 4.8km tunnel that will run from the Gabba and Shafston Ave, under the river to Bowen Hills. If the earth’s moving for you in Fortitude Valley at the moment that’s where the boring machines are up to – and next month they’ll be under Brisbane River on their way to a 2010 ribbon-cutting. You’ll then be able to skip 18 sets of lights with the new motorway linking up 5 roads that today carry a combined 400,000 cars a day.
The first pile was driven this week on the “Hale Street Link” (forgettable, politically-correct name still to be decided…) and this 4 lane toll bridge will also open in 2010. Piles are going 30 metres below the river bed in what will be a vehicle, cycle and shaded pedestrian crossing from South Brisbane to Milton.
Following design changes and community cups of tea, approvals are expected this month for “Airport Link”, another of our great tunnels in planning. A 5.3km rabbit hole this one promises to speed cars from Bowen Hills to the airport roundabout in 6 minutes. Burrowing under Lutwyche Road then east under Clayfield, it’s proposed for a 2012 completion.
Keeping up?! The last of the inner city’s big road projects is the “Northern Link”. Hooking up the Western Freeway at Toowong and the Inner City Bypass at Kelvin Grove this is 5km of tunnel that’ll run north-west of Milton Road under Auchenflower and Paddington. Approvals should happen soonish with an opening around 2014.
We just happened to see the aftermath of a traffic accident this afternoon at the intersection of Ernest & Cordelia Streets in South Brisbane.
