Riverside Expressway Pacific Motorway | |
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General information | |
Type | Expressway |
Length | 2 km (1.2 mi) |
Route number(s) | ![]() |
Former route number | ![]() |
Major junctions | |
North end | ![]() Brisbane City |
South end | ![]() Brisbane City |
Highway system | |
The Riverside Expressway is part of the Pacific Motorway that runs through Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is located on the western side of the Brisbane CBD and is made up of various bridges and overpasses. The North Bank development was formerly proposed to alleviate the visual disruption of the expressway and recapture Brisbane for pedestrians.
The Expressway runs the entire western length of the Brisbane CBD from Coronation Drive to the Captain Cook Bridge at Gardens Point, an estimated 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) before becoming the Pacific Motorway which ends at the Gold Coast.
The roadway has been described as a concrete barrier on the river's edge and an eyesore, however others have praised the dramatic and visually arresting views of the Brisbane River, city skyline and surrounds experienced by drivers and passengers on the elevated expressway.
Traffic congestion in the central city area became problematic in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Story Bridge, William Jolly Bridge and Victoria Bridge were clogged with traffic wanting to cross from one side of town to the other. A traffic engineering company called Wilbur Smith and Associates was asked to study Brisbane's traffic problems by the state government. [1] They delivered a report, the Brisbane Transportation Study, which included plans for traffic management for many years.
In 2016, the road was the most congested in the state with average traffic speeds in afternoon peak times slowing to 19 km per hour. [2]
Construction on the Riverside Expressway began in late 1968, when the pylons for the bridge were laid on the north bank of the Brisbane River. It was built over the former Short Street which provided access to a wharf. [3] The bridge was completed in 1975 as was the Southeast Freeway to Holland Park. [1] The Brisbane River was used as a source for gravel to make much of the concrete used in construction. The freeway was opened on 22 July 1976 by Governor Sir Colin Hannah. [4]
The development of the Expressway necessitated an increase in Turbot Street's capacity as an arterial road, so the street was widened. [4]
In 2018, a three car accident at Greenslopes caused around a 10 km traffic delay including the whole of the Riverside Expressway. [5]
In February 2021, Extinction Rebellion staged a protest on the roadway at the Turbot Street offramp. [6]
During September and October 2006, roadworks occurred on the Expressway, and surrounding structures, including the Captain Cook Bridge. Maintenance on these structures had not been done since its construction in the 1970s. On 17 October 2006, parts of the expressway were closed due to safety concerns regarding hairline cracks in the Alice Street and Ann St ramps.
The initial conclusion reached by engineers is that the hairline fracture, measuring over 2 metres long and 0.4 mm wide, was caused by the stress on the structure due to "The weight of both ramps is [now] balanced on one bearing and they are failing to shift their weight to their other bearings as designed." [7]
This road closure caused widespread delays for motorists travelling through the inner city. Public transport facilities were heavily utilised to travel to work at peak periods. Business activity in the Brisbane central business district was affected by a dramatic reduction in customers as shoppers avoided the area.
On 20 October 2006, Department of Main Roads workers successfully drove a 22 tonne truck up and down the Ann Street ramp deeming the ramp to have passed a weight test. The main section of the Expressway was reopened, except for the Alice St and Ann St ramps. A few days later the ramps were completely reopened to all but heavy vehicles.
![]() | This article contains a bulleted list or table of intersections which should be presented in a properly formatted junction table.(December 2021) |
At the northern end the road start where North Quay ends at the intersection with Herschel Street. Nearby the road is crossed by the Kurilpa Bridge. Entrance and exits are provided for both Turbot Street and Ann Street. The Riverside Expressway is then crossed by the Victoria Bridge. Further south there are entrances and exits for Elizabeth Street, Margaret Street and Alice Street.
The Captain Cook Bridge is a road bridge that carries the Pacific Motorway across the Brisbane River in Brisbane, in the state of Queensland, Australia. It was built exclusively for vehicular traffic and was completed in late 1972. The bridge had its naming ceremony on 13 December 1972, with it opening in January/February 1973. A once only pedestrian walk event across the bridge happened shortly before it was opened to vehicular traffic on 21 January 1973, organised by the Rotary Club of Stones Corner. The bridge crosses at the South Brisbane Reach of the river, linking Gardens Point in the Brisbane central business district on the north side to Kangaroo Point and South Brisbane on the southside.
The William Jolly Bridge is a heritage-listed road bridge over the Brisbane River between North Quay in the Brisbane central business district and Grey Street in South Brisbane, within City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Harding Frew and built from 1928 to 1932 by MR Hornibrook.
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Brisbane City is the central suburb and central business district of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It is colloquially referred to as the "Brisbane CBD" or "the city". It is located on a point on the northern bank of the Brisbane River, historically known as Meanjin, Mianjin or Meeanjin in the local Aboriginal Australian dialect. The triangular shaped area is bounded by the median of the Brisbane River to the east, south and west. The point, known at its tip as Gardens Point, slopes upward to the north-west where the city is bounded by parkland and the inner city suburb of Spring Hill to the north. The CBD is bounded to the north-east by the suburb of Fortitude Valley. To the west the CBD is bounded by Petrie Terrace, which in 2010 was reinstated as a suburb.
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Alice Street is a street in the Brisbane CBD, Queensland, Australia. It is the most southern major road in the city's central business district, running parallel to the other female-named streets in the city. It was named after Princess Alice of the United Kingdom.
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Turbot Street runs parallel to Ann Street and is on the northern side of the Brisbane CBD in Queensland, Australia. It is a major thoroughfare, linking as a three-to-five lane one-way street with the Riverside Expressway in the southwest to the suburb of Fortitude Valley in the northeast; address numbers run the same direction. It is a one-way pair with Ann Street.
Media related to Riverside Expressway at Wikimedia Commons