Brisbane Metro early works to begin in January 2020

After months being at loggerheads over the Brisbane Metro project, the Queensland Government has given Brisbane City Council the go-ahead to start early works — on one condition.

EARLY works for the $944 million Brisbane Metro will go ahead as the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council work out the details for the Metro Station at South Brisbane.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and Queensland Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey made the announcement together at the Cultural Centre Busway Station this afternoon.

Brisbane Metro planned to link with Brisbane Airport jobs hub

Council reveals three short-listed suppliers for Brisbane Metro vehicles

Lord Mayor says Auditor General will not investigate Brisbane Metro tender process

“The turn-up-and-go Brisbane Metro is under way; we’ve had some very positive discussions in recent weeks,” Cr Schrinner said.

Those works, expected to begin in January, include sewerage and service relocations, relocating the Cultural Centre bus station lifts and upgrading the Peel and Grey St intersection.

It is a breakthrough for the two levels of government which, after having more than 300 meetings on the project were at loggerheads, with a key point of contention being where the station should be built.

Brisbane City Council is preparing to announce the successful bid to build the build the Brisbane Metro vehicles.

The council’s original plan was to build it under the Cultural Centre while the State Government wanted a station under the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, which would have cost up to $390 million extra.

A commitment from Brisbane City Council to thoroughly explore the third option on the table, to build it under the Cultural Centre but with a tunnel connection for West End buses, was a key part of the early works approvals.

It is not a promise to build the tunnel, which the council estimated would cost up to $91 million extra, merely to closely examine its feasibility.

Construction of an underground tunnel for the Brisbane Metro is planned to start in 2020 and will form part of Council’s vision to transform Adelaide Street into a premier green, shady and accessible entryway to the CBD.

Cr Scrhinner said the early works were “a really important first step”.

“These early works are required regardless of whatever option is landed on for the station here, so they will be works that we can get on with.”

Cr Schrinner added the council was only weeks away from awarding the Metro vehicle contract, and the council and state government would test its performance together.

Mr Bailey welcomed the council’s commitment to progress design work on the Cultural Centre Metro Station and to continue exploring the option for West End buses to travel underground by modifying the existing reference design.

“I’m glad to work with the Lord Mayor to look, in more detail, into the two options to get a much more precise figure so we can look at what would be the preferred design,” he said.

An artist’s impression

“The Palaszczuk Government has supported this project in principle from the very beginning, we’ve always said it’s a project that’s got to work, that’s got to integrate into our public transport system seamlessly.”

He defended the need for hundreds of meetings and what the council has previously branded delays on State Government approvals on the need to “get this right”.

Mr Bailey said there were a “range of issues” that needed to be examined for the further approvals required, including how the Metro integrated into an already busy busway system and that current users “must get an improvement”.