This was published 1 year ago
Kangaroo Point bridge build hits halfway mark – and $100m cost overrun
By Matt Dennien
The news
More than 240 metres of the Kangaroo Point Green Bridge’s spans have been installed, passing the halfway mark of its eventual 460-metre stretch across the Brisbane River.
While the pedestrian, cycle and scooter link to the CBD is still expected to be finished next year, it has also passed another milestone: a more than $100 million lift to its price.
Progress on the Kangaroo Point Green Bridge as of September 2023, with more than half of the span laid.Credit: Brisbane City Council
Brisbane City Council’s transport committee head Ryan Murphy said the cost had been revised up again from $280 million to $299 million, after talks with contractor BESIX Watpac, from what was initially a $190 million project.
“The Kangaroo Point Green Bridge is council’s biggest active travel project, and it isn’t immune to the increasing construction costs other major projects are also facing,” Murphy said.
The backstory
An idea for such a bridge, set to join Kangaroo Point and the CBD near the Botanic Gardens, has been floating around since the 1800s.
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner announced the council would seek to build the cross-river link in 2019 ahead of council elections the following year, as part of a $550 million green bridge program.
At the time, he said a third of the funding for the five proposed bridges to be built over a five-to-10-year period would need to come from the state and federal governments.
Why it matters
The bridge program was a key part of Schrinner’s pitch to reduce congestion and boost public and active transport, but the 2022 floods and community opposition to one left just two in the works.
An artist impression of the Kangaroo Point Brisbane to the CBD.Credit: PD Online/Brisbane City Council
However, Murphy has recently suggested the council would start working through detailed design of its proposed Toowong to West End bridge.
Last year’s floods also pushed back an original late-2023 opening date for the flagship Kangaroo Point crossing to “early 2024”. Council communications about the bridge now simply say “2024″.
The next council elections will be held in March.
What they said
Murphy pointed to global supply chain problems, labour shortages and construction cost increases as the reason for the further lift in the bridge’s price tag.
“The conditions in the market right now are a perfect storm for anyone building major infrastructure, but we have to push though and get this project done for Brisbane’s future,” he said.
By the numbers
By 2036, more than 6000 pedestrians, cyclists and e-mobility riders are expected to use the bridge daily.
The council estimates this will reduce cross-river car trips by up to 84,000 each year.