Economic escape tunnel
How Brisbane will dig out of hole like before
IT’S a big promise, but in five years time Brisbane’s CBD will be transformed.
From Queen’s Wharf to Brisbane Live, the transformed 45ha Victoria Park – Brisbane’s answer to New York’s Central Park – to the new QPAC theatre and trendy West Village, the world-class bars, cafes, restaurants, hotels and retail hugging the river, the state’s capital is a mix of massive construction sites, plans, pledges and promises.
But they seem to be coming together, with thousands of jobs already filled and the promise of more to come at a time when they couldn’t be more needed. Literally underpinning the new Brisbane is the Cross River Rail and its 5.9km of tunnels and stations deep under the CBD.
Its builders say the twin tunnels beneath the Brisbane River will unchoke the southeast’s rail network, meaning more trains more often from every corner of the network.
It will mean sports fans can work in the CBD and be walking through the gates of the Gabba in minutes, head over to Brisbane Live for entertainment or simply know they will wait no longer than five minutes for a train to turn up and shuttle them home to
DIGGING up Brisbane’s inner-city stations to make way for the massive Cross River Rail underground has thrown up fascinating items that show the city’s past.
The most obvious change taking place is the demolition of the Roma Street Transit Centre, among the Gold Coast, Ipswich, Logan or the Sunshine Coast.
Queensland Major Contractors Association chief executive Jon Davies says the confluence of big projects will transform Brisbane, making the results “the envy of cities everywhere”.
Look forward five years, he says: “Cross River Rail and the Brisbane Metro have not only made it easier to move around, they’ve also sparked a renaissance of inner-ring centres such as Woolloongabba, Dutton Park, Herston and Albion. Brisbane Airport’s second runway and the cruise ship terminal have opened the least lovely buildings in the city. From essential passenger and produce gateway to last glimpse of home before being moved north to the war, Roma Street Station has played a major role in the city.
According to a history of the station, the then location of the Brisbane City Travelodge opened on August 18, 1986.
The special introductory offer the way for many more international visitors.
“There’s also a tremendous flow-on effect from this construction boom that has created thousands of jobs.
“In 2020, construction is the second largest employer in Queensland accounting for nearly 10 per cent of the overall workforce (almost 250,000 people).
“It is the third largest contributor to the Queensland economy ($27 billion) and supports almost 80,000 businesses from sole traders to mum-and-dad businesses, subcontractors, planners, designers and contractors. was rooms at $66 per night, with some described as having “luxury” facilities, including remote-control TVs and not one but two directdial telephones.
The new underground station will become Brisbane’s “Grand Central”.
On average, more than 46,000 people are expected to use it each weekday by 2036.
“Every dollar spent on construction projects has a multiplier effect.”
This was not the first time Brisbane had built itself out of an economic hole.
“In 1928, as the Great Depression began to cripple the economy, Brisbane City Council commissioned its first major capital project that would today be called a ‘mega project’ – the Grey Street Bridge (later renamed the William Jolly Bridge),” Mr Davies said. Later the Story Bridge and Hornibrook Highway would “catapult Brisbane out of the economic doldrums”.
The Gold Coast Bulletin in conjunction with the Cross River Rail Delivery Authority is presenting a series looking at the project and what it will bring to the state.
From today’s crisis also comes opportunity with State Development Minister Kate Jones saying the tunnels would unlock Brisbane’s potential, getting people out of cars and onto trains.
“Cross River Rail won’t just unlock a bottleneck at the core of our rail network and allow more trains to run more often, it will integrate with new roads and new busways to create a new, turn-up-andgo transport system that benefits the whole of south-east Queensland,” Ms Jones said.