Kangaroo Point Green Bridge begins to take shape

Brisbane’s next major river crossing, the Kangaroo Point Green Bridge, has reached a construction milestone, with the completion of its first deck span. See how it’s progressing and what’s still to come.

The Kangaroo Point Green Bridge has reached a construction milestone, with the completion of its first deck span.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner announced on Thursday morning the completion of a steel bridge deck span connecting the CBD landing site at the corner of Alice and Edward streets to the first bridge pier.

The Kangaroo Point Green Bridge’s first steel bridge deck span connecting the CBD landing site at the corner of Alice Street and Edward Street to the first bridge pier has been successfully installed. Source: Brisbane City Council.

“Wherever I go in Brisbane, people are keen to know more about this fantastic project so it’s great we can start the year by announcing the bridge has reached this key milestone,” he said in a statement.

Mr Schrinner said the installation of the bridge span was a major milestone for the much-anticipated project.

“This is the first of eight bridge spans, with four more to be installed by mid-2023, as the bridge begins to snake out piece by piece from both sides of the river,” he said.

A crane lowers the first span into place. Source: Brisbane City Council.

The Lord Mayor said the bridge will become a Brisbane icon on completion, as its striking 83-metre mast and destination dining venue become synonymous with the river city.

“Before, during and after the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the bridge will provide a critical link between a redeveloped Gabba Stadium and the CBD,” he said.

“The over-water restaurant and café that we have incorporated into the project will also make the bridge a must-do destination for residents and visitors.”

A spokeswoman for the Office of the Lord Mayor said the decision from a blind tender process underway for who will occupy the dining space would be announced later this year.

The installation of the span occurred after two steel modules, each weighing around 35 tonnes, were transported down Edward Street under police escort.

They were then lifted in place by a mobile crane brought in specifically for the job of installing the span.

The statement added that over coming months, precast concrete deck panels will be fitted over the bridge span, forming part of its deck, with the process to then be replicated on the Kangaroo Point side of the bridge.

The Kangaroo Point Green Bridge’s first steel bridge deck span was transported through the CBD under cover of darkness. Source: Brisbane City Council.

Mr Schrinner said the project was moving forward at a rate of knots, with the river expected to be bustling with barge-based construction activity over the coming months.

“Most of the marine piling works have now been completed and will be followed by concrete pours for the marine piers, which will support the bridge from underneath,” he said.

More than 6000 pedestrians, cyclists and e-mobility riders are expected to use the bridge daily by 2036, reducing car trips across the river by up to 84,000 each year.

The Green Bridges Program was announced in March 2019 at a cost of more than half a billion dollars.