Clem7 takes pressure off congested roads
Posted on Thursday, 19 August, 2010
Brisbane’s Clem7 tunnel is taking up to 35,000 vehicles a day off two of the city’s most congested river crossings, Lord Mayor Campbell Newman revealed today.
Cr Newman said the Clem7, which links Bowen Hills and Woolloongabba, had led to an 18 per cent reduction in the number of vehicles using the Storey Bridge (-20,554 vehicles) and a 9 per cent drop on the Captain Cook Bride (-13,834 vehicles) since it opened in March 2010.
He said Ipswich Rd (-27.2 per cent), Gipps St (-14.6 per cent) and the Pacific Motorway (-9.8 per cent) had also experienced significant reductions in traffic numbers.
“This is taking pressure off our inner city river crossings, which were close to bursting at about 95 per cent capacity before the opening of the Clem7 and Go Between Bridge,” Cr Newman said.
“There’s also been big time savings for motorists travelling either above or below ground.
“Recently we had a record 34,790 vehicles use the Clem7, meaning we’re now just a few thousand short of the 38,000 vehicles a day that we said would be using the tunnel by October.
“With the Go Between Bridge also close to hitting its traffic targets ahead of time we’re now in a very good position heading into the start of construction on the Northern Link tunnel later this year.”
Cr Newman said a trip from Ipswich Rd to Lutwyche Rd via the Storey Bridge had dropped from about 21 minutes to 14 minutes (-32 per cent) since the Clem7 opened, while the same route from Shafston Ave to Lutwyche Rd had fallen from about 14 minutes to 11 minutes (-22 per cent).
However, the Lord Mayor said the tunnel still offered the quickest trip, with travel times on both these routes dropping to about 6 minutes and 4 minutes respectively when using the Clem7.
“These time savings have also flowed over to our bus network, meaning even daily public transport users are reaping the benefits that the Clem7 is having on getting Brisbane moving again,” Cr Newman said.
Cr Newman said the Route 77 bus service from Eight Mile Plains to Chermside that was introduced as a result of the tunnel’s opening had also been a success, cutting a 55 minute trip to 39 mins.
Cr Newman said the Go Between Bridge was also having a direct impact on public transport, with the 100 bus services now using it saving up to 15 mins a day in dead running time.
The Go Between Bridge also recently clocked up a new record of 12,218 vehicles, exceeding Council’s target of 12,000 vehicles by the end of September only 40 days after opening.
The 4.8 kilometre Clem7 tunnel, Go Between Bridge and Northern Link (Toowong to Kelvin Grove) are part of the Lord Mayor’s Transapex series of bridges and tunnels, which will create a ring road around Brisbane’s inner city. Other Projects include the East-West Link (Buranda to Toowong) and Airport Link tunnels.