Major Projects

Australia TradeCoast is already one of the best connected trade and industrial regions in the country.

However, our partners are constantly improving the region’s connectivity, especially by road, in order to maintain ATC’s competitive advantage into the future. Some key infrastructure projects include:

• Kingsford Smith Drive Upgrade – Kingsford Smith Drive is a major road linking Brisbane CBD to the Brisbane Airport, Port of Brisbane, Northshore Hamilton and the Australia TradeCoast area. Brisbane City Council plans to upgrade Kingsford Smith Drive in stages. The Kingsford Smith Drive Upgrade – Stage 1 is expected to be completed in mid 2011. This upgrade involves widening the road from four to six lanes between Theodore Street and Harvey Street in Eagle Farm. For stages 2 and 3, Council are evaluating five options for upgrading Kingsford Smith Drive between Theodore Street and Breakfast Creek Road. For further information, please click here.
• Airportlink – Airportlink is a 6.7km toll road, mainly underground, connecting the Clem 7 Tunnel, Inner City Bypass and local road network at Bowen Hills, to the northern arterials of Gympie Road and Stafford Road at Kedron, Sandgate Road and the East West Arterial leading to the airport. Airportlink will be the first major motorway linking Brisbane city to the northern suburbs and airport precinct, avoiding up to 18 sets of lights. Electronic tolling will make the journey faster, less congested and safer, with less stopping and starting. When Airportlink opens in 2012, the Airportlink Operations Centre, incorporating the Toll Road Control Centre, will be located on Stafford Road and provide 24-hour surveillance and safe operation of the toll road. For further information please visit the BrisConnections website or you can test drive Airportlink here before it opens in 2012.
• Port Connect – Port Connect is a $385 million upgrade of the Port of Brisbane Motorway (PoBM) being undertaken by the Queensland Government as part of its long term plan to meet the transport needs of the Port of Brisbane and the Australia TradeCoast. Port Connect will deliver a duplication of the existing two-lane motorway, as well as a three kilometre extension. On completion of this project the PoBM will be four lanes from the Gateway Motorway through to Pritchard Street. Importantly this extension will eliminate the need for heavy vehicles to use Lytton Road on their way to the port. As well as an upgrade and extension of the motorway the project also includes a new interchange at Pritchard Street with an overpass between Lytton Road and Export Street. This interchange will allow for local trips and provide access to the motorway. Port Connect is due to be completed in mid-2013. For further information, please click here.
• Port of Brisbane Motorway Upgrade Planning Study – The Queensland Government is proposing to upgrade the Port of Brisbane Motorway (POBM) to enhance and support economic development for Queensland and Australia through the Port of Brisbane and surrounding Australia TradeCoast precincts. This project is designed to provide a four-lane motorway-standard connection from the Gateway Motorway, which connects all interstate and intrastate markets, to the Port of Brisbane at Fisherman’s Island. Included in the proposal is a grade-separated interchange at Pritchard Street and a number of ramps to service economic nodes along the corridor. The project comprises 9.6 km of high standard 4 lane motorway between Gateway Motorway and the Boat Passage at Fisherman Islands. Stage 1 of the Port of Brisbane Motorway opened in 2003 as a two lane motorway extending from the Gateway Motorway to Lindum Road. For further information, please click here. 
• Gateway Upgrade Project – The Gateway Upgrade Project totals 20 kilometres and is the largest bridge and road project in Queensland history involving the duplication of the Gateway Bridge and refurbishment of the existing bridge. The project was completed in December 2010. For further information, please click here. 
• Northern Access Road Project – Brisbane Airport Corporation’s (BAC) $220 million Northern Access Road Project was completed in 2009. You can now use the airport’s newest roads – Moreton Drive and Nancy-Bird Way. Vehicles now have access to the four and a half kilometre, multi-lane road system, which has been fully funded by BAC as part of an ambitious $4.2 billion infrastructure program. The new major road, named Moreton Drive, links the Gateway Motorway with the Domestic Terminal in a seamless, uninterrupted flow, while Nancy-Bird Way services the International Terminal. The road network provides airport users and businesses with a second major access route to terminals and on-airport businesses, delivering huge benefits to the entire Australia TradeCoast region. Moreton Drive connects with a major component of the Gateway Upgrade Project, the new Gateway Motorway, which runs from the Gateway Bridge through Brisbane Airport land before rejoining the Old Gateway Motorway at Nudgee Road. The new road is a massive boost in capacity for Brisbane Airport’s road network, generating huge savings in time, congestion, fuel use, and emissions for the tens of thousands of vehicles using the Airport’s roads every day. For further information, please click here. 
• Airport Roundabout Upgrade – Motorists now save more than 10 minutes in peak hour traffic at Brisbane's airport roundabout following the completion of the Airport Roundabout Upgrade. A new 750m flyover bridge connecting the East-West Arterial to Airport Drive, over the Gateway Motorway overpass, has improved traffic flow to and from the airport. Underneath the flyover, the roundabout was replaced with a signalised fast diamond intersection enabling motorists to cross in half the time it took to get through the old roundabout. The key features of the Airport Roundabout Upgrade include improved connections to the airport precinct, the Gateway Motorway and Kingsford Smith Drive. The existing Gateway Motorway overpass at the roundabout has been replaced with a new four lane overpass, the East-West Arterial has been widened to three lanes in each direction, and surface road improvements have been made to Airport Drive. For further information please visit the BrisConnections website.