“Only four or five people a week will use it,” predicted a retired gentleman waiting on a park bench this morning to see the middle section of the St. Lucia-Dutton Park Green Bridge set into place, but he’s wrong. This suspension structure spanning the Brisbane River is coming together ahead of schedule and my wife and I will be among herds of folks using it several times a week as soon as it opens, perhaps before the end of the year.
A crane was in place this morning to lift a 3.6 meter mid-section piece into place and with that done, only a span over Sir William MacGregor Drive on the west end will be unconnected. Earlier this week the eastern end was linked to its approach ramp, so this $55.5 million (AU dollars) bridge for busses, walkers and bike peddlers is tantalizingly close to becoming useful.
What a joy it has been to see the two towers rise up out of the river over the past year and then to watch the decking spread bit by bit in both directions from each one. I have a few hundred digital photos of its progress and I think it's a beautiful structure.
A contest is underway now to name it, and one of the names being considered is “Green Bridge.” That would get my vote.
Another choice may be made by the officials, but this will always be the Green Bridge to me and, I suspect, to most of the rest of us who have watched it rise from the river. May it help keep UQ, St. Lucia, Dutton Park, Annerley, Fairfield, and the rest of Brisbane green and lively for many generations to come.
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