Brisbane's Road Network - what’s wrong with it?
Queensland - 19/10/2006
The closure of a small section of road in Brisbane’s CBD has caused traffic chaos and gridlock during peak hour for several days. How could it be that this one section of road is that crucial to the traffic network? No doubt the powers that be will be looking long and hard at the situation.
I am no expert. I haven’t researched the intricacies or traffic flow. I don’t know what would be required to build bridges and make significant changes to the road network. But that doesn’t stop me from having my opinion.
The current system basically funnels all traffic into the city and then out again. That’s fine if you’re heading to the city itself – but what if you are heading from one side to the other? You are forced onto one of one of Brisbane’s crucial routes, whether it be the Riverside Expressway, Coronation Drive, Milton Road or the Story Bridge. Not only do these major routes have to contend with traffic heading in and out of the city, they also have to contend with both north-south and east-west traffic.
The only exception to this rule is the north-south run over the Gateway Bridge (where you have to pay a toll). Even the Western route along Centenary Highway forces you onto Milton Road (unless you are heading to a north-west suburb).
Two more crossings are planned - both in the CBD area. Both will be funded by tolls.
It is about time the city had alternative river crossings so that cross-city traffic wasn’t forced to go through the city. This would alleviate the major routes and provide alternatives during times such as the current dilemma.
The map below has current crossings circled in blue, planned crossings circled in yellow and a few suggestions that I have for alternative crossings circled in red. As I mentioned at the start, I’m no expert. I don’t know what impact building bridges in these locations would have and whether the road network either side would handle it, etc. But without these alternatives, the city routes will continue to be congested with or without road closures.
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