Inner Northern Busway Tunnel Construction

Right now there is a significant amount of construction going on near King George Square on the Inner Northern Busway. This section represents the construction of the busway from Queen Street to Upper Roma Street, which commenced in June 2006. This has resulted in the closure of a significant portion of King George Square, and a relocation to storage of many of the sculptures and public features there. This new section will allow buses travelling north and west to bypass traffic congestion in Brisbane's CBD by constructing tunnels linking the Queen Street Bus Station (underneath the Myer Centre) to Upper Roma Street, where it will connect with the existing Inner Northern Busway.

There are two tunnels being built as a result of this work. It is currently scheduled for completion in late 2008, and as I understand it they are on schedule. There is a consortium of contractors working with the city council and government to complete the work. If you want, you can download a flythru of the proposed completed work. The main aims of the roadworks are to reduce travel time for the bus network, and reduce traffic congestion on the main arterial roads through the city.

I personally am all for anything which is going to make travel on our bus network better. With the rising costs of petrol, and the continuing influx of people moving to our fair state, anything we can do to help encourage people onto public transport is a good thing. Construction to me is always a sign of progress and change. I heard a story that as they were doing the tunnel work, they actually dug up old sewer lines and previous tram tracks. An urban myth floated around that there was even a whole tram amongst the rubble, but this I can neither confirm nor deny (and so it will keep proliferating!)

Cheers, I Love Brisbane, Wes.

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