Brisbane commuters will now benefit from quicker and safer trips between the city’s inner-north and western suburbs, with works complete on Brisbane City Council’s Inner City Bypass (ICB) upgrade.
Lord Mayor Graham Quirk today marked the project’s completion as one of the first bus passengers to travel along the new on-ramp, which will now provide direct access to the ICB from the Inner Northern Busway and Bowen Bridge Road.
“Council is committed to tackling traffic congestion right across the city and the ICB upgrade is one of 1,000 road projects that are being delivered as part of a $2 billion investment,” Cr Quirk said.
“With more lanes and bus priority measures, this upgrade will ensure the ICB can cater for future traffic demands which are expected to grow to 130,000 daily vehicles by 2031.
“The ICB will now also provide direct access out of the city to the western suburbs, with a 150 metre on ramp connecting Bowen Bridge Road, the busway and future Brisbane Metro services.
“More than 50 bus services travel along this stretch of road every day and new timetables will come into effect from August 27 which will see bus passengers saving close to 10 minutes on their journey along the ICB.”
Infrastructure Chairman Cr Amanda Cooper said more than 1,500 people had invested 380,000 hours to boost capacity and tackle traffic congestion along the ICB.
“The ICB upgrade has seen more than 9,000 tonnes of asphalt and 8,000 cubic metres of concrete laid to widen the corridor between the RNA tunnel and Legacy Way to eight lanes and improve connectivity with the broader road network,” Cr Cooper said.
“Prior to the upgrade, the ICB was operating at 90 per cent capacity with vehicles often queuing up to 700 metres at the Herston Road exit and all road users will now benefit from up to 25 per cent travel time savings with the completion of this upgrade.”
Transurban Queensland Group Executive, Sue Johnson praised the efforts of the construction teams who had worked hard to deliver the much needed upgrade.
“Motorists will now benefit from reduced congestion, faster travel times, improved safety and better connections to adjacent inner city roads and tunnels,” Ms Johnson said.
“As part of our agreement with Brisbane City Council, Transurban Queensland will also provide operations, maintenance and incident response services on the ICB, starting from today.
“The ICB is adjacent to our Legacy Way, Clem7, Go Between Bridge and AirportlinkM7 roads allowing us to deliver a high standard of operations throughout the corridor and improve traffic flows, safety outcomes and connectivity.”
Transurban Queensland delivered the $60 million ICB upgrade on behalf of Council. For more information about the project visit www.brisbane.qld.gov.au or call Council on (07) 3403 8888.