Overpass open ahead of schedule

Saturday, 19 December 2009

A Christmas gift to the residents of Brisbane

Lord Mayor Campbell Newman announced on Friday that the fully-completed Coronation Drive overpass  open to traffic on Saturday 19 December, two months ahead of schedule. 

The Lord Mayor said the $63 million overpass would allow motorists travelling outbound along Coronation Drive to bypass the Go Between Bridge intersection.

“This will mean a smoother drive for motorists heading onto Coronation Drive, particularly those making their way home during peak hour,” Cr Newman said.

“Thank you to all those motorists who heeded our warnings about delays during the viaduct’s construction and took alternate routes where possible.

“Your help has meant that we were able to keep peak hour delays on Coronation Drive down to about six minutes and avoid the 50 minute delays that were predicted. The early finish date has also meant motorists have been spared an extra two months of road works.”

Construction of the 230 metre-long Coronation Drive overpass began in February 2009 and was not scheduled to finish until February 2010.

The overpass was also used to host Brisbane City Council’s Christmas bus decorating competition, with buses from each of Council’s eight bus depots competing.

The viaduct peaks at 7.5 metres just west of the Hale Street intersection and is made up of seven concrete spans, each consisting of four 70 tonne, 30 metre-long super T-girders.

The opening of the overpass means that traffic conditions change, with Coronation Drive returning to three inbound lanes.

Motorists travelling outbound between the Riverside Expressway and Coronation Drive need to keep left to get onto the viaduct. Motorists using the Boomerang Street overpass to access the Inner City Bypass or Milton Road need to be in the right outbound lane.

The two-lane viaduct is part of the Lord Mayor’s $370 million Go Between Bridge project, which links Milton and South Brisbane.

The bridge deck now spans the width of the river with workers pouring the last section of concrete earlier this month. Workers will now focus on the construction of dedicated bike and pedestrian paths on opposite sides of the bridge deck.

The Go Between Bridge is Brisbane’s first inner-city traffic bridge in 40 years and will add another four traffic lanes across the Brisbane River.

“This bridge is an essential for the future of cross-river travel in Brisbane because our current 32 traffic lanes are at 95 per cent capacity,” Cr Newman said.

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