Go Between Bridge

The Go Between Bridge, formerly known as the Hale Street Link, is a toll bridge for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists over the Brisbane River in inner-city Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The bridge connects Merivale and Cordelia Streets in West End to Hale Street and the Inner City Bypass at Milton. It is Brisbane's first inner-city traffic bridge in 40 years[1] and carries around 12,000 vehicles per day.[2] The bridge opened to traffic on 5 July 2010 and is now operated by Transurban Queensland.[3]

Go Between Bridge
Coordinates27°28′11″S 153°0′44″E
CarriesMotor vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists
CrossesBrisbane River
LocaleBrisbane, Queensland, Australia
Characteristics
DesignTwin concrete cantilever box girder
Longest span117 metres (384 ft)
History
Opened5 July 2010 (2010-07-05)
Location

The Go Between Bridge is named after the popular Australian indie rock band The Go-Betweens,[4] which was formed in Brisbane. The bridge was part of Campbell Newman's TransApex transport plan. It extends the Inner City Bypass across the Brisbane River.

A charity concert featuring Robert Forster from the Go-Betweens and other singers was held on 25 June, followed by a community open day on 4 July 2010.[5]

Protests

The bridge was unpopular with many residents of West End, and with some parents from the West End State school who were concerned about increased traffic and air pollution. The "Stop the Hale Street Bridge Alliance" was formed to voice these concerns.[6][7] At the start of the bridge's construction two protesters were arrested for allegedly writing graffiti on a wall surrounding the project site.[8]

Construction

Construction began in July 2008 and the project was completed in early July 2010.[9] The bridge was built by The Hale Street Link Alliance (HSLA) which consisted of four companies; Bouygues Travaux Publics, Macmahon Holdings, Seymour Whyte and Hyder Consulting.[9] During construction, lane closures on Coronation Drive caused delays for motorists and resulted in temporary changes to associated public transport services.[10] The final concrete pour for the main bridge span occurred on 2 December 2009.[11] The construction cost for the bridge was A$338 million.[12]

Bridge structure

The Go Between Bridge is a four-lane bridge with dedicated pedestrian and cycle pathways. It is a three span, twin concrete box girder structure built using balanced cantilever construction. The main bridge span is 117 m (384 ft) long, supported by two river piers located 74 m (243 ft) north and 80 m (260 ft) south of the abutments on each river bank. The pathways are 3.6 m (12 ft) wide and designed for equitable access. A pedestrian pathway is located on the eastern (city) side of the bridge and a cycleway on the western (Toowong) side. As the bridge is steep, the pedestrian path was built as a separate structure at a lesser grade. This allows for the path gradient to comply with equitable and disabled access requirements.[9]

Naming

The Brisbane City Council held a naming competition for the bridge was held with ten short-listed suggestions put to a "popular vote" with "Go Between" attracting 30% of the vote. The winning name was announced on 29 September 2009.[13]

Robert Forster, the guitarist for The Go-Betweens, later said, "When Grant and I sat around in 1978 thinking about the things we'd get from being in a rock band, a bridge wasn't one of them. It's not the actual bridge that's so astonishing, it's driving down roads that have those big signs like Ipswich, Gold Coast, and seeing Go Between Bridge. But really nice ... and a bridge is a beautiful thing. It's nicer than a Go-Between sewage works."[14]

Toll

Initially the Brisbane City Council planned to recover the cost of the bridge by collecting a toll of $2.70 per vehicle.[11] However, due to budget savings this amount was reduced to $1.50 until the end of 2010, then for the first six months of 2011 it cost $2.00, rising to $2.35 plus CPI from July 2011.[15] The bridge features free-flow tolling with electronic tag and video matching payment options. Queensland Motorways has a 50-year lease to toll and operate the bridge.[16]

The bridge is operated by Transurban Queensland.[17]

This table is an excerpt from Toll roads in Australia
Toll prices as of 1 July 2023[18]
Toll roadClass 1 (Motorcycles)Class 2 (Cars)Class 3 (Light Commercial Vehicles)Class 4 (Heavy Commercial Vehicles)Toll increaseToll concessionaire[19]Expiry of toll concession[20][21]
Go Between Bridge $1.91 $3.82 $5.72 $11.45[lower-alpha 1] Annually on 1 July, by CPI Transurban Queensland[lower-alpha 2]
(62.5% owned by Transurban)		 December 2063
  1. Class 4 price shown is the peak hour price (5am–8pm daily). Class 4 off-peak price is $10.12.
  2. Under a long-term concession agreement with the Brisbane City Council

Route Numbering

The Go Between Bridge is numbered as M3 and State Route 33 Northwestbound but unnumbered Southeastbound.

Patronage

In July 2010, 9,000 vehicles per day were using the bridge, increasing to 11,725 by mid September 2010.[22] It was expected that this figure would rise to 17,500 by 2011 and in 2021 be 21,000 vehicles.[23] During its first year of operation the bridge collected A$8.18 million from tolls but cost $30 million to operate.[24] During that period the highest number of daily uses was 15,783 on 24 March 2011.[24]

  • Go Between Bridge under construction, 9 August 2009
    Go Between Bridge under construction, 9 August 2009
  • Go Between Bridge under construction, 17 October 2009
    Go Between Bridge under construction, 17 October 2009
  • Go Between Bridge under construction, 17 October 2009
    Go Between Bridge under construction, 17 October 2009

See also

References
  1. "Brisbane bridge honours legendary band". David Barbeler. Drive. 29 September 2009. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  2. "Clem7 tunnel fails to attract traffic despite rebranding campaign". 15 January 2015.
  3. Pollard, Emma (5 July 2010). "First cars cross Brisbane's new Go Between bridge". ABC News Online. Archived from the original on 8 July 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  4. Christine Kellett (29 September 2009). "New Brisbane bridge named after rock band". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Digital. Archived from the original on 1 October 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
  5. "Go Between Bridge toll cut to $1.50 until 2011". Campbell Newman. 19 May 2010. Archived from the original on 13 March 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  6. "Residents lobby Bligh to stop bridge plans". ABC. 9 November 2006. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
  7. "Brisbane Labor councillors to back Hale St bridge". ABC. 13 November 2006. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
  8. "Brisbane Two arrested in Hale St protest". Brisbane Times. 1 June 2008. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
  9. "Project Overview". Hale Street Link Alliance. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  10. Daniel Hurst (2 November 2009). "Clogged roads prompt plea for more trains". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Digital. Archived from the original on 6 November 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  11. Heger, Ursula (3 December 2009). "Go Between Bridge trip to cost drivers $2.67 to travel 300m". News Limited. Archived from the original on 8 December 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
  12. Tony Moore (19 May 2010). "Brisbane's Go Between bridge tipped to open soon". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Digital. Archived from the original on 7 August 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  13. Kellett, Christine (28 September 2009). "New Brisbane bridge named after rock band". Brisbane Times. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  14. Monique Schafter (24 August 2016). "Robert Forster reflects on 30 years of friendship with Go-Betweens collaborator Grant McLennan". ABC. Archived from the original on 24 August 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  15. Tony Moore (19 May 2010). "Go Between bridge toll slashed". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Digital. Archived from the original on 21 May 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  16. Tony Moore. "Council-Qld Motorways deal 'good value'". Archived from the original on 5 January 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  17. "Brisbane". Transurban. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  18. "Toll pricing". Linkt. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  19. "Toll roads". Department of Transport and Main Roads. 10 April 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  20. "Brisbane". Transurban. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  21. "Transurban Queensland Euro Medium Term Note Programme Update" (PDF). 31 October 2016. p. 9. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  22. Tony Moore (17 September 2010). "Inside Northern Link - Brisbane's next big decision". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 18 September 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  23. Tony Moore (12 June 2010). "It's a long way to be back in black". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 14 August 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  24. Tony Moore (5 July 2011). "Mayor predicts Go Between boost". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
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