Four lanes on new Sir Leo Bridge to open this weekend
Queensland motorists will get their first chance to drive over the new Sir Leo Hielscher Bridge this weekend.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Queensland motorists will get their first chance to drive over the new Sir Leo Hielscher Bridge this weekend.
Main Roads Minister Craig Wallace said the traffic switch would happen either late tonight or early tomorrow morning, depending on the weather.
“There is no set time and no fanfare. It’s in the hands of our engineers and traffic experts,” Mr Wallace said.
“The southbound lanes of the new Sir Leo bridge will open in stages over the weekend and all going well, all four lanes should be open by Monday.
“At some stage over the weekend, southbound motorists will find themselves redirected onto a new route that connects to the new bridge.
“There are some concerns that motorists might cause congestion by stopping or slowing down to check out Queensland’s newest infrastructure. I urge motorists to resist the urge to sight-see. It’s a motorway and they need to keep moving.
“Our main priority is to keep traffic flowing. That’s why police and traffic controllers will be active around the site this weekend,” Mr Wallace said.
Minister Wallace urged motorists using the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridge this weekend to pay attention to signage and exercise care.
Detours will be in place from tonight until the early hours of Monday morning for all southbound traffic on the Gateway from Nudgee to the new Sir Leo Bridge.
Southbound traffic will be directed to use the Old Gateway Motorway lanes at Nudgee this weekend, including motorists heading southbound to the Brisbane Airport. Access will be via the old motorway route to Airport Drive. People catching flights should leave 20 minutes earlier than usual in case there are delays on the road.
The Kingsford Smith Drive southbound on-ramp will also be closed over the weekend, with motorists travelling south over the bridge directed to use the Links Avenue on-ramp.
Northbound traffic will be unaffected by the works.
The new Gateway southbound lanes at Nudgee and the Kingsford Smith Drive southbound on-ramp will re-open in time for peak hour traffic on Monday morning.
Minister Wallace said the early opening of four lanes on the new Sir Leo Hielscher Bridge is a significant milestone.
“It’s part of the Bligh Government’s massive $2.5 billion investment in the Gateway corridor,” Mr Wallace said.
“By the end of the year, we’ll have six lanes southbound, six lanes northbound, six months ahead of schedule,” he said.
The Gateway Upgrade Project is a Queensland Government initiative being delivered by Queensland Motorways with design, construction and maintenance by the Leighton Abigroup Joint Venture.
The project involves duplication of the Gateway Bridge, 16 kilometres of upgrades to the Gateway Motorway south to Miles Platting Road and 7 kilometres of new motorway north to Nudgee Road.
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