Go Between Bridge
Go Between Bridge | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Coordinates | 27°28′11″S 153°00′43″E / 27.4697°S 153.012°E |
| Carries | Motor vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists |
| Crosses | Brisbane River |
| Locale | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Official name | Go Between Bridge |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | twin Concrete cantilever box girder |
| Longest span | 117 metres (384 ft) |
| History | |
| Opened | 5th July 2010 |
| Location | |
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The Go Between Bridge, formerly known as the Hale Street Link, is a toll bridge for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists over the Brisbane River in innercity Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The bridge connects Merivale and Cordelia Streets in West End to Hale Street and the Inner City Bypass at Milton. It is Brisbane's first inner-city traffic bridge in 40 years[1] and is expected to carry around 12,000 vehicles per day.[2] The bridge opened to traffic in the early hours on the 5th of July, 2010 [3]
The Go Between Bridge is named after the popular Australian indie rock band The Go-Betweens,[4] which was formed in Brisbane. The bridge is part of Campbell Newman's TransApex transport plan. It expected to save 15 minutes of travel during peak hour as vehicles will be able to avoid congestion on the William Jolly Bridge.[5]
A charity concert featuring Robert Forster from the The Go-Betweens and other singers was held on 25th June, followed by a community open day on 4th July, 2010.[6]
Protests
The bridge was unpopular with many residents of West End, and with some parents from the West End State school who were concerned about increased traffic and air pollution. The "Stop the Hale Street Bridge Alliance" was formed to voice these concerns.[7][8] At the start of the bridge's construction two protesters were arrested for allegedly writing graffiti on a wall surrounding the project site.[9]
Construction
Construction began in July 2008 and the project was completed in early July 2010.[10] The bridge was built by The Hale Street Link Alliance (HSLA) which consisted of four companies; Bouygues Travaux Publics, Macmahon Holdings, Seymour Whyte Holdings and Hyder Consulting.[10] During construction lane closures on Coronation Drive caused delays for motorists and resulted in temporary changes to associated public transport services.[11]
The final concrete pour for the main bridge span occurred on 2 December 2009.[12] The construction cost for the bridge was AU$338 million.[13]
Bridge structure
The Go Between Bridge is a four-lane bridge with dedicated pedestrian and cycle pathways. It is a three span, twin concrete box girder structure built using balanced cantilever construction. The main bridge span is 117 metres long, supported by two river piers located 74 metres north and 80 metres south of the abutments on each river bank. The pathways are 3.6 metres wide and designed for equitable access. A pedestrian pathway is located on the eastern (city) side of the bridge and a cycleway on the western (Toowong) side. As the Go Between Bridge is steep, the pedestrian path is being built as a separate structure at a lesser grade. This allows for the path gradient to comply with equitable and disabled access requirements.[10]
Naming
A naming competition for the bridge was held through the website www.NameThatBridge.com, with eleven shortlisted suggestions put to a popular vote. The winning name was announced on 29 September 2009. The Courier Mail newspaper held an online poll on the same day, asking the question "Is the Go Between Bridge a good name for Brisbane's newest river crossing?", to which 81% of the 3,400 voters answered "No".[14]
Toll
Initially the Brisbane City Council planned to recover the cost of the bridge by collecting a toll of $2.70 per vehicle.[12] However due to budget savings this amount will be reduced to $1.50 until the end of 2010, then for the first six months of 2011 it will cost $2.00, rising to $2.35 plus CPI from July 2011.[2] The bridge will feature free-flow tolling with electronic tag and video matching payment options.
Construction Photos
See also
References
- ^ "Brisbane bridge honours legendary band". David Barbeler. Drive. 29 September 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
- ^ a b Tony Moore (19 May 2010). "Go Between bridge toll slashed". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Digital. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
- ^ http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/05/2944472.htm
- ^ Christine Kellett (29 September 2009). "New Brisbane bridge named after rock band". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Digital. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
- ^ "A new way to Go Between". ourbrisbane.com. Brisbane City Council. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
- ^ "Go Between Bridge toll cut to $1.50 until 2011". Campbell Newman. 19 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
- ^ "Residents lobby Bligh to stop bridge plans". ABC. 9 November 2006. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
- ^ "Brisbane Labor councillors to back Hale St bridge". ABC. 13 November 2006. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
- ^ "Brisbane Two arrested in Hale St protest". Brisbane Times. 1 June 2008. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
- ^ a b c "Project Overview". Hale Street Link Alliance. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
- ^ Daniel Hurst (2 November 2009). "Clogged roads prompt plea for more trains". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Digital. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
- ^ a b "Go Between Bridge trip to cost drivers $2.70 to travel 300m". News Limited. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
- ^ Tony Moore (19 May 2010). "Brisbane's Go Between bridge tipped to open soon". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Digital. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
- ^ "Poll Results". News Limited. 29 September 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-04.