Bridges over the Brisbane River
The Brisbane River, running through Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, is crossed by fifteen major bridges, from the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges downstream to the Centenary upstream. The river meanders through an urban area that comprises 2.562 million people.
There are two smaller crossings in the west of Brisbane City in the suburb of Mount Crosby: the Mount Crosby Weir, and Colleges Crossing.
Planning
A bridge downstream of the Victoria Bridge was part of a larger plan, devised by Professor Roger Hawken of the University of Queensland in the 1920s, for a series of bridges over the Brisbane River to alleviate congestion on Victoria Bridge and to divert traffic away from the Brisbane central business district. The William Jolly Bridge was the first of the Hawken Plan bridges to be constructed. Lack of funds precluded the construction of the downstream bridge at that time. Initially plans called for a transporter bridge further downstream near New Farm.In 1926 Kangaroo Point was recommended by the Brisbane City Council's Cross River Commission. Subsequently the bridge was constructed as a public works program during the Great Depression. The cost was to be no more than ₤1.6 million.
Major bridges
| # | Name | Usage | Description | Suburbs | Photo |
| 1 | Sir Leo Hielscher — original bridge formerly known as the Gateway Bridge | vehicles, cyclists & pedestrians | Original bridge opened January 1986 by the Duke of Edinburgh Duplicate bridge opened May 2010. Concrete box girder design. 260 metre main span. | Eagle Farm to Murarrie | |
| 2 | Story | vehicles & pedestrians | Opened July 1940. Steel truss design. 777 metres long with a 282-metre main span. | Fortitude Valley to Kangaroo Point | |
| 3 | Captain Cook | vehicles | Opened 1972. Concrete box girder design. 555 metres long with 183 metre main span. | Brisbane City to Kangaroo Point | |
| 4 | Goodwill | pedestrians & cyclists | Opened October 2001. 450 metres long with 102 metre main span. | Brisbane City to South Brisbane | |
| 5 | Victoria | vehicles, cyclists & pedestrians | Opened 1969. Replaced its namesake. 146.3 metre main span. | Brisbane City to South Brisbane | |
| 6 | Kurilpa | pedestrians & cyclists | Opened October 2009. 'Tensegrity' design. 425m long pathway | Brisbane City to South Brisbane | |
| 7 | William Jolly — also known as Grey Street Bridge | vehicles & pedestrians | Opened March 1932. Concrete arch design. 498 metres long with a 73-metre main span. | Brisbane City to South Brisbane | |
| 8 | Merivale | rail | Opened November 1978. Tied steel arch design. Main span 132 metre. | Brisbane City to South Brisbane | |
| 9 | Go Between — formerly known as Hale Street Link | vehicles, cyclists & pedestrians | Opened 5 July 2010. Concrete box girder balanced cantilever design. | Brisbane City to South Brisbane | |
| 10 | Eleanor Schonell — formerly known as Green Bridge | buses, cyclists & pedestrians | Opened December 2006. Cable-stayed design. 390 metres long. | St Lucia to Dutton Park | |
| 11 | Jack Pesch | cyclists & pedestrians | Opened October 1998. Steel cable-stay design. | Indooroopilly to Chelmer | |
| 12 | Albert | rail | Opened 1895. Steel truss design. Replaced its namesake. 208 metres long with two spans each 103.7 metres. | Indooroopilly to Chelmer | |
| 13 | Indooroopilly Railway | rail | Opened 1957. Steel truss design. 208.5 metres long with two equal spans. | Indooroopilly to Chelmer | |
| 14 | Walter Taylor | vehicles & pedestrians | Opened February 1936. Suspension design. Main span 183 metres. The bridge's towers are occupied. | Indooroopilly to Chelmer | |
| 15 | Centenary | vehicles, cyclists & pedestrians | Original bridge opened in 1964. Duplicate bridge opened in 1986. Concrete girder | Kenmore, Fig Tree Pocket to Jindalee |
Map
Future bridges
In 2007 the Smart State Council announced plans for a series of new green mode bridges for Brisbane. New bridges include;- a connection from Margaret Street near the Stock Exchange in the City to Thornton Street, Kangaroo Point.
- from Cairns Street, Kangaroo Point a new bridge will connect to the end of the floating riverwalk at Merthyr Road, New Farm.
- and from Merthyr Road, Teneriffe a new bridge will connect to Hardcaste Park, Hawthorne.
Crossings between the Centenary Bridge and Wivenhoe Dam
In addition to the existing bridges between Centenary Bridge and Wivenhoe Dam a number of others have been proposed.The Goodna Bypass is designed to relieve congestion on the Ipswich Motorway and will have four new bridges over the river. Land acquisitions were underway in 2010 to create the future transport corridor. As of 2010, there is no date or funding provided to commence the construction of the Goodna Bypass.
The Western Bypass would have included a crossing of the river but has been cancelled.
The existing crossings on this section of the river are listed below.
| Name of crossing and/or road | Coordinates | Description and/or purpose | Photo |
| Moggill Ferry | Moggill to Riverview | ||
| Mount Crosby Road at Colleges Crossing | Mount Crosby to Chuwar | ||
| Allawah Road across Mount Crosby Weir | Mount Crosby to Chuwar | ||
| Kholo Bridge, Kholo Road | Kholo to Muirlea, Chuwar | ||
| McMullen Road | Lake Manchester to Pine Mountain | ||
| Summervilles Road | Borallon to Wanora, Borallon —Borallon is a locality on both sides of the Brisbane River | ||
| Banks Creek Road | Banks Creek to Fernvale | ||
| Brisbane Valley Highway | Wivenhoe Pocket to Fernvale, taking the highway across the river | ||
| Wivenhoe Pocket Road | Wivenhoe Pocket to Fernvale, crossing the river via an island | ||
| Brisbane Valley Highway across Wivenhoe Dam | The highway runs on top of the dam wall for 2.3 kilometres from Lake Wivenhoe from north to south |
Crossings from Lake Wivenhoe to Moore
When Lake Wivenhoe is full the waters extend many kilometres up the river. The first crossing upstream from the lake is a high level bridge built in conjunction with the dam to raise the Esk Kilcoy Road well above the maximum level of the lake. Several minor crossings of this section of the river shown on maps are omitted from the list below. The omitted crossings belong to one of the following groups:- Former low level crossings now covered by the waters of Lake Wivenhoe.
- Public or private roads that provide access to farms on the eastern side of the river.
- Private roads or tracks that link parts of farms that are astride the river.
| Name of crossing and/or road | Coordinates | Description and/or purpose | Photo |
| Esk Kilcoy Road | Lake Wivenhoe near Somerset Dam to Lake Winhoe near Caboonbah, connects Kilcoy to Esk | ||
| Gregors Creek Road | Gregors Creek northside to Gregors Creek southside, Links Brisbane Valley Highway to farms atand provides an alternate route to Kilcoy | ||
| D'Aguilar Highway | Harlin northside to Harlin southside, links Brisbane Valley Highway to Kilcoy |