Riverside Expressway
Encyclopedia
Pacific Motorway
The Pacific Motorway is a 100 km long motorway in Australia between Brisbane, Queensland, and the New South Wales-Queensland border at Tweed Heads. The motorway starts at Coronation Drive at Milton in Brisbane, and from 2008 links the Tweed Heads bypass in New South Wales...
that runs through Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is located on the western side of the Brisbane CBD
Brisbane central business district
The Brisbane central business district , sometimes referred to as the city, is a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and is located on a point on the northern bank of the Brisbane River. The triangular shaped area is bounded by the Brisbane River to the east, south and west...
and is made up of various bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
s and overpass
Overpass
An overpass is a bridge, road, railway or similar structure that crosses over another road or railway...
es. The North Bank development is 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
Coronation Drive, Brisbane
Coronation Drive , popularly known as Coro Drive, is a road in Brisbane, Queensland which connects the Central Business District to the suburb of Toowong...
to the Captain Cook Bridge
Captain Cook Bridge, Brisbane
The Captain Cook Bridge is a motorway bridge over the Brisbane River in Brisbane, Australia. It was built exclusively for vehicular traffic and was opened in 1972. The bridge crosses at the South Brisbane Reach of the river, linking Gardens Point to Woolloongabba.Captain Cook Bridge actually...
at Gardens Point
Gardens Point, Brisbane
Gardens Point is a point on the northern bank of the Brisbane River. The Brisbane CBD extends northwards of the point.Located here are Queensland's Parliament House, the Gardens Point campus of the Queensland University of Technology, the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens and Queensland's Old...
, an estimated 3 km before becoming the Pacific Motorway which ends at the Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
.
History
Brisbane River
The Brisbane River is the longest river in south east Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay. John Oxley was the first European to explore the river who named it after the Governor of New South Wales, Thomas Brisbane in 1823...
. The bridge was completed in 1975. 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 1970's.
On 17 October 2006, parts of the expressway were closed due to safety concerns regarding hairline cracks in the Alice St and Ann St
Ann Street, Brisbane
Ann Street runs parallel to Adelaide Street and is the northern-most street in the Brisbane CBD in Queensland, Australia. It is a major thoroughfare, running straight through the city and linking the suburb of Fortitude Valley with the Riverside Expressway....
ramps.
The initial conclusion reached by engineers is that the hairline fracture, measuring over 2 metres long and 0.4mm 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."
This road closure caused widespread delays for motorists travelling through the inner city. Public transport
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
facilities were heavily utilised to travel to work at peak periods. Business activity in the Brisbane central business district
Brisbane central business district
The Brisbane central business district , sometimes referred to as the city, is a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and is located on a point on the northern bank of the Brisbane River. The triangular shaped area is bounded by the Brisbane River to the east, south and west...
was affected by a dramatic reduction in customers as shoppers avoided the area.
On 20 October Department of Main Roads
Government of Queensland
The Government of Queensland is commonly known as the "Queensland Government".The form of the Government of Queensland is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1859, although it has been amended many times since then...
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.
See also
- Freeways in AustraliaFreeways in AustraliaThis is a list of freeways and motorways in Australia, sorted by states and territories and their corresponding routes. This list includes toll roads such as the CityLink freeway system in Melbourne. This list has over 70 entries...
- Freeways in Brisbane