40-592: The Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges , formerly and still collectively referred to as the Gateway Bridge , are a pair of twin road bridges that carry the Gateway Motorway (M1) over the Brisbane River , skirting the eastern suburbs of the city of the same name . The western bridge carries traffic to the north and the eastern bridge carries traffic to the south. They are the most eastern crossings of
80-413: Is equivalent to a 20-storey building. A total of 150,000 tonnes (165,000 short tons) of concrete was used to construct the bridge. The original design did not include a safety fence to prevent suicide attempts and base jumping . Three-metre high safety fences attached to the top of the concrete traffic barrier were later installed to prevent these incidents occurring. Anti-climbing screens are part of
120-840: Is exercised by him or her on the advice of the Premier of Queensland and the Cabinet. The Premier and Ministers are appointed by the Governor, and hold office by virtue of their ability to command the support of a majority of members of the Legislative Assembly. Judicial power is exercised by the Supreme Court of Queensland and a system of subordinate courts, but the High Court of Australia and other federal courts have overriding jurisdiction on matters which fall under
160-475: Is in the City of Brisbane local government area. Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland , Australia, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy . Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the state Legislative Assembly , with the governor officially appointmenting office-holders. The first government of Queensland
200-585: Is operated by Transurban Queensland . The state continues to own the road and bridge infrastructure. A project to plan and construct upgrades to the Gateway Motorway and the Bruce Highway, at a cost of $ 2.1 billion, was in planning in July 2022 with finalisation of business cases expected in 2023. Major components are: The kilometres shown below are subject to change as upgrades to
240-840: Is operated by toll road operator Transurban . It bypasses Brisbane in order to provide easier access between the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast . It runs from the M2 Logan Motorway in Drewvale (near Browns Plains) to the Gympie Arterial Road in Bald Hills. At the interchange with the Pacific Motorway at Eight Mile Plains (Pacific Motorway exit 16), its original terminus pre-1997,
280-778: The Parliament of Queensland , which consists of the King , represented by the Governor of Queensland , and the one house, the Legislative Assembly of Queensland . De jure executive power rests formally with the Executive Council , which consists of the Governor and senior minister, but is exercised de facto by the state cabinet. The Governor, as representative of the Crown, is the formal repository of power, which
320-504: The Port of Brisbane Motorway and Wynnum Road completed in late 2007. Four of six lanes of the new Gateway Motorway deviation were opened in July 2009. All works south of the river were complete by the end of 2009 after 10 years of constant roadwork and traffic disruption. The final concrete pour linking the sides of the new bridge was made in late October 2009. A total of 748 concrete segments, which are supported by 17 piers, were placed for
360-709: The Q150 celebrations, the Gateway Bridge was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "structure and engineering feat". Gateway Motorway The Gateway Motorway (M2 to Eight Mile Plains and M1 to Pine River) is a major tolled motorway in Brisbane , Queensland , Australia which includes the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges (former Gateway Bridge). The motorway
400-651: The Brisbane River and the closest to Moreton Bay , crossing at the Quarries Reach and linking the suburbs of Eagle Farm and Murarrie . The original western bridge (formerly named the Gateway Bridge ) was opened on 11 January 1986 and cost A$ 92 million to build. The duplicate bridge was opened in May 2010, and cost $ 350 million. In February 2010, the Queensland Government renamed
440-402: The Gateway Bridge and Nudgee Road. The deviation runs east of the original motorway through Brisbane Airport Corporation land and provides an alternative means of access to Brisbane Airport (the only effective access from the south). The new bridge provides a bicycle path unlike the first crossing. The Wynnum Road upgrade was completed on 13 July 2007 and 2 additional southbound lanes between
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#1732780377265480-532: The Gateway Bridge and its duplicate the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges. Following the announcement, an opinion poll conducted by Brisbane's Channel Nine News showed that 97% of people were against the decision to rename the bridge and that most would continue to call it the Gateway Bridge. A public open day for the duplicate bridge was held on 16 May 2010 and the new bridge was opened to traffic on 22 May 2010, six months ahead of schedule. Following
520-681: The Logan Motorway, creating the Southern Brisbane Bypass. The road was opened to traffic by Vaughan Johnson, then-Minister for Transport and Main Roads, on 13 May 1997. Following this work, the road was renamed Gateway Motorway. In 2007, construction began on the Gateway Upgrade Project, which duplicated the Gateway Bridge, added a deviation between Eagle Farm and Nudgee and upgraded the motorway south of
560-740: The Murrarie, Kuraby and Compton Road toll points. The Murrarie toll point is located immediate south of the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges and charges all vehicles travelling on the bridges. The Kuraby toll point is located north of Compton Road and charges vehicles between the Logan Road / Pacific Motorway and Compton Road / Logan Motorway . The nearby Compton Road toll point is located on the northbound exit and southbound entry ramps to/from Compton Road, which opened in 2019. The sections north of Brisbane Airport and between Port of Brisbane Motorway and Logan Road are toll-free. The Murrarie toll point
600-460: The actions of the governor of Queensland (the representative of the monarch , Charles III ), although the governor in practice performs only ceremonial duties, with de facto executive power lying with the Cabinet . The Cabinet is the government's chief policy-making organ which consists of the premier and all ministers . Each minister is responsible for exercising policy and legislation through
640-612: The ambit of the Australian Constitution. On 27 October 2024, Crisafulli announced that he and Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie would be sworn in as an interim two-person cabinet, however which portfolios will be assigned to each of them is unknown. Crisafulli and Bleijie were formally sworn in by Governor Jeanette Young on 28 October. On 1 November 2024, the full ministry was formally sworn in, as follows: The Queensland Government delivers services, determines policy and regulations, including legal interpretation, by
680-408: The bridge including light poles) coupled with shipping needs requiring a navigational clearance of 55 metres (180 ft). The bridge has six lanes (originally three lanes in each direction, which were subsequently reconfigured to six lanes of northbound traffic after opening of the duplicate bridge). The bridge was financed by funds borrowed by the Queensland Government , and as a result, users of
720-444: The bridge pay a toll when crossing the bridge in either direction. The bridge is operated and maintained by Transurban Queensland . The total length is 1,627 metres (5,338 feet). This is divided into a southern approach of 376 metres (1,234 feet), a northern approach of 731 metres (2,398 feet) and the three central spans of 520 metres (1,710 feet). The record main span is 260 metres (850 feet) long by 64.5 metres (212 feet) high, which
760-400: The bridge started before the design was completed, to fast track its construction. It was officially commissioned on 11 January 1986. On this day 200,000 people crossed the bridge by foot as part of the opening activities. In 1986 the bridge carried an average of 12,500 vehicles per day. In 2001 the bridge was crossed by 27 million vehicles (approximately 73,975 vehicles per day). In early 2010
800-620: The bridges, the motorway was expanded to 9 lanes up to the Wynnum Road interchange, and 8 lanes to the Old Cleveland Road interchange. From that point the motorway is six lanes up to the Pacific Motorway Merge. The upgrades between Lytton Road and Mount Gravatt-Capalaba Road were completed on 28 January 2010, while the final stage between Mount Gravatt-Capalaba Road and Pacific Motorway (also the final stage of
840-539: The entire Gateway Motorway Upgrade) was opened to traffic on 30 July 2011. Upon its original opening, the road did not have a route number. However it gained the Metroad 1 shield in March 1994, before being replaced with M1 in 2005. Manual toll booths were removed and replaced with electronic toll gates (which require vehicles to have a transponder attached to the windscreen ) in 2010. The motorway has three toll points,
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#1732780377265880-402: The height of the pylons that would be required. Due to cost considerations, an alternative design concept was proposed by Bruce Ramsay (Manager Engineering) of VSL. This alternative design required a world record main span of 260 m for a free cantilever , concrete box girder bridge . The concept was adopted by one of the tenderers – Transfield Queensland Pty.Ltd. who was subsequently awarded
920-500: The new bridge when the latter opened. The bridges are tolled using the Linkt (formerly go via ) electronic system and will remain so until 2051. The toll booths were removed and free flow tolling began in July 2009. The booth removal saw an immediate drop in road crashes due to the reduction in queuing and weaving at the toll booths on the southern approach. Construction on the Gateway Bridge commenced on 5 June 1980. The construction of
960-512: The new bridge. The duplicate bridge was completed in May 2010 along with the remaining lanes of the Gateway Motorway deviation. In October 2010, then Minister for Main Roads, Craig Wallace , announced that the original course of the Gateway Motorway via Eagle Farm would be renamed to Southern Cross Way, after Sir Charles Kingsford Smith's aircraft, the Southern Cross , which landed at Eagle Farm in 1928, and so as to avoid confusion with
1000-478: The newly opened Gateway Motorway deviation. The new Gateway Motorway deviation was given the name Gateway Motorway. However, like the renaming of the bridges themselves, the change to Southern Cross Way was not without controversy, attracting criticism from the then Shadow Minister for Main Roads and Transport, Fiona Simpson . Refurbishment of the existing bridge was completed in November 2010. In 2009 as part of
1040-405: The opening, the old bridge was refurbished, three vehicle lanes at a time. From November 2010 the two bridges carry 12 lanes of vehicle traffic (six in each direction). The associated upgrade of the Gateway Motorway south of the bridge was completed in May 2010 to coincide with the new bridge opening. To pay for the duplication of the bridge, a toll was imposed on the original bridge in 2005, and on
1080-488: The project on the basis of this alternative. It held the record span of 260 m for over 15 years. The box girder is still the largest prestressed concrete, single box in the world, measuring 15 m deep at the pier, with a box width of 12 m and an overall deck width for the six lanes of 22 m. As stated above the bridge owes its distinctive shape to air traffic requirements restricting its height to under 80 metres (260 ft) above sea level (all features of
1120-621: The respective state government department . The headquarters for each government department are located in the capital city of Brisbane , with most government departments based at 1 William Street , a purpose-built skyscraper in Brisbane CBD . Queensland is governed according to the principles of the Westminster system , a form of parliamentary government based on the model of the United Kingdom. Legislative power rests with
1160-582: The river. The duplicate Gateway Bridge was opened on 24 May 2010 and both bridges were renamed the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges. The original bridge was refurbished to match the new structure and was finished on 28 November 2010. The northern deviation was routed east from its old alignment (the old alignment is now named Southern Cross Way) and added a second access road, Moreton Drive, to Brisbane Airport. The deviation opened on 19 July 2009 whilst Moreton Drive opened on 3 December 2009. South of
1200-516: The road are implemented. The entire motorway is in the City of Brisbane local government area. Southern Cross Way is a 7 kilometres (4.3 mi), 4 lane motorway which branches from the Gateway Motorway at Eagle Farm before merging back with it at Nudgee. Prior to 2010, Southern Cross Way formed part of the Gateway Motorway before the Gateway Upgrade Project constructed a shorter route (and additional Brisbane Airport access road, Moreton Drive), between those two suburbs. The old, longer motorway section
1240-477: The route number changes from M2 (Logan Motorway – Pacific Motorway) to M1 (Pacific Motorway – Bruce Highway (Gympie Arterial Road)). The Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges are part of the Gateway Motorway and the Motorway provides access to the Port of Brisbane , Brisbane Airport and Brisbane Entertainment Centre . According to Transurban the motorway was used by 125,000 vehicles per day in 2023. The motorway
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1280-493: The route was called the Gateway Arterial Road because the road was not at motorway status, the road passing through three large roundabouts north of the Brisbane River. Therefore, to cope with the heavy traffic, the government began upgrading the road in 1987. Duplication to four lanes and grade-separation was completed in several stages between 1989 and 1996. In 1995, construction began on a southern extension to
1320-400: The second bridge's security features. In 2005, a major upgrade of the Gateway Motorway was announced. Leighton Contractors and joint venture partner Abigroup won the contract to upgrade the motorway. The A$ 1.88 billion Gateway Upgrade Project includes the duplication of the Gateway Bridge and upgrades to 20 km (12 mi) of the Gateway Motorway from Mt Gravatt-Capalaba Road in
1360-502: The single bridge was carrying an average of 100,000 vehicles per day. The annual Bridge to Brisbane fun run has begun from the southern entrance to the bridge from its first year until 2015, when it was moved, and again since 2021, after being moved back. In 1979, a tender was called by the Queensland Main Roads Department for a new bridge crossing of the Brisbane River. The conforming design main span
1400-529: The south to Nudgee Road in the north. The bridge duplication was the largest bridge and road development in Queensland's history. The duplicate bridge was specified to have a design life of 300 years. To the south, the upgrade included widening 12 km (7 mi) of the Gateway Motorway from 4 to 6 lanes. To the north, it involved the construction of the 7 km (4 mi) Gateway Motorway deviation, an entirely new six-lane motorway between
1440-532: Was constructed to connect the then-recently opened Gateway Bridge to the Bruce Highway in the north and the Pacific Motorway in the south. Construction on the road commenced in March 1985 and it was opened to traffic in four stages between August and December 1986. When first opened, the Gateway Bridge and supporting roads extended only to Airport Drive in the North and Lytton Road in the south. Originally,
1480-483: Was designed as a balanced cantilever with two raised post tensioned concrete compression stays located on the median and over each of the two main piers to support the 260-metre span. Due to the proximity of the Brisbane Airport, an overall structural height constraint was provided due to aircraft flight path and clearances. This constraint ruled out the possibility of a conventional cable-stayed bridge due to
1520-499: Was formed in 1859 when Queensland separated from New South Wales under the state constitution . Since federation in 1901, Queensland has been a state of Australia , with the Constitution of Australia regulating its relationship with the federal government . Queensland's system of government is influenced by the Westminster system and Australia's federal system of government . Executive acts are given legal force through
1560-559: Was introduced in 2005 to fund the duplication of the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges . At the time, the Murrarie tolls were proposed to expire in 2041. In 2011, tolls on the Gateway (Kuraby toll point) and Logan Motorways were extended from 2018 to 2051, as well as the Murrarie tolls, as a result of the transfer of Queensland Motorways ' tollways to the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC). The motorway
1600-401: Was preserved, connected to the deviation and renamed Southern Cross Way, after the aircraft flown by aviator Charles Kingsford Smith , to allow motorists to distinguish between the routes. Southern Cross Way (also colloquially called the 'Old Gateway Motorway') thus follows the previous alignment of the Gateway Motorway between Eagle Farm and Nudgee and has three exits. The entire motorway
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