The Eleanor Schonell Bridge, better known as the Green Bridge, is a 390-metre (1,280 ft)-long
cable-stayed bridge which crosses the
Brisbane River
The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the Go ...
between
Dutton Park and the
University of Queensland's
St Lucia campus, connecting the
UQ Lakes and
Dutton Park Place busway stations. Its deck is 185 metres long, 20 metres wide and about 18 metres above the river's surface. The bridge was opened on 17 December 2006, and is the first bridge in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
exclusively designed for
bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
es,
cyclists and
pedestrian
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically.
The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with ...
s. The bridge cost $55.5 million to construct.
The opening of the bridge signalled the end of the popular cross-river ferry service between Dutton Park and St Lucia, which had been running since 1967. The two ferries that remained at the cessation of the service, MV Loyalty and MV Vicky Lynn were sold, the Loyalty now being used as a private vessel and the Vicky Lynn as a floating advertisement for the Riverpoint Luxury Apartments in West End.
Construction
The "as-built" concept design of the bridge was proposed as an alternative design by Bruce Ramsay. Construction of the bridge has included a new road through Dutton Park, the expansion of
Annerley Road, a
new bus station for the University of Queensland and the permanent redirection of College Road in St Lucia. The detailed design and the construction was carried out by
John Holland Group.
A related transport infrastructure project is the
Eastern Busway which links the Eleanor Schonell Bridge with the
Queensland Rail City network at
Park Road station
A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...
and to the
South East Busway
Public transport services
To coincide with the opening,
TransLink announced three new bus services which will use the bridge. These services are the 109, 169 and 209. The 109 started operation on 18 December 2006, and links UQ to the city via Annerley Road and the CBD end of the
South East Busway. The 169 service began in February 2007 and links UQ with Eight Mile Plains and Garden City.
The 209 service also began in February 2007, and links UQ with Carindale.
The fourth service, the 139, was introduced in July 2007
in order to address overcrowding issues on the 169 and on Mains Road services from the
Griffith University busway station, and links UQ with Sunnybank and Sunnybank Hills. The 139 only operates on weekdays during university semesters.
The fifth service, the 192, was announced in October 2008 and is designed to connect the university to West End and Highgate Hill. The 192 is not a new service; rather it is an extension of an older route servicing the West End/Highgate Hill area. It only operates on weekdays.
The most recent addition to the UQ service is the 29 route, operating a shuttle every five minutes between the Woolloongabba Bus Station and UQ Lakes.
Traffic impact
Although southside travellers previously had the option of boarding a cross-river ferry, the bridge has a far greater capacity. Average river crossing times have also improved, especially in the off-peak when only one ferry was in use. The popularity of the bridge had initially proven troubling to
TransLink and the Brisbane City Council, with extra buses having to be put on to cater to the large number of commuters traveling to St. Lucia campus. The Boggo road busway is now complete, and has delivered improved efficiency for the rail/bus interface at Park Road Station and has opened up the St. Lucia area to more travelers.
The new route possibilities are not all one-sided; northside commuters now have a 15-minute cycle along Annerley Road and the
Goodwill bridge to the CBD from the UQ side of the bridge.
The Councillor for the local council ward of Tennyson, Nicole Johnston, whose electorate incorporates the Dutton Park side of the Eleanor Schonell Bridge, advocated a trial for private vehicular traffic. The Brisbane City Council did not respond to that suggestion.
St. Lucia end
The traffic area at the St Lucia end of the bridge terminates as a
cul-de-sac
A dead end, also known as a cul-de-sac (, from French for 'bag-bottom'), no through road or no exit road, is a street with only one inlet or outlet.
The term "dead end" is understood in all varieties of English, but the official terminology ...
, without any non-pedestrian thoroughfare options into the streets around The University of Queensland or St Lucia. The separate path for cyclists on the bridge leads directly through to various paths away from the bridge, a deliberate measure to ensure that "there will be no through-running bus service connected to the campus or to the suburb of St Lucia".
[
]
Naming
Brisbane Lord Mayor
This is a list of the Mayors and Lord Mayors of the City of Brisbane, a Local government in Australia, local government area of Queensland, Australia. The current Lord Mayor of Brisbane is Adrian Schrinner.
Mayors of the Brisbane Municipal Cou ...
Campbell Newman
Campbell Kevin Thomas Newman (born 12 August 1963) is a former Australian politician who served as the 38th Premier of Queensland from 26 March 2012 to 14 February 2015. He served as the member for Ashgrove in the Legislative Assembly of Quee ...
announced on 28 August 2006 that the Green Bridge would officially be called the Eleanor Schonell Bridge. An independent panel including Brisbane
historian and author
Helen Gregory
Helen Gregory (born 1946) is a prominent historian, author and retired public servant in and of Brisbane, Queensland Australia and its surrounds.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts, BA (Hons) from the University of Queensland and is a former adjunct p ...
,
University of Queensland academic
Professor Michael Keniger,
Architect Bill Corker from
Denton Corker Marshall and a representative from the Lord Mayor's Youth Advisory Council
Milindee Jeewandara produced a short list of three names to Brisbane's Civic Cabinet from hundreds suggested by the public being:
Eleanor Schonell
Florence Eleanor Schonell (31 October 1902 – 22 May 1962) was a Colony of Nataln-born Australian educational scientist known for her work with children affected by cerebral palsy and dyslexia.
The daughter of Francis William de Bracey Water ...
Bridge,
Hawken
The surname Hawken comes from the Nordic given name '' Haakon'', the name of seven Norwegian kings. The given name evolved to ''Hakon'', and variations include: Håkon, Haakon, Horken, Hörken, Hawkin, Hawkins, and Hawken. Hawken is a possible v ...
Bridge and
University Bridge.
Eleanor Schonell made an internationally recognised contribution to testing for dyslexia
Dyslexia, also known until the 1960s as word blindness, is a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for one's age. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, r ...
and was renowned for her generous and humane approach to life.
Her work with cerebral palsy children led to international recognition and she also contributed substantially to the education of children with intellectual disabilities.
During its conception and construction, the bridge was known as the "Green Bridge" because it was a
sustainable transport
Sustainable transport refers to ways of transportation that are sustainable in terms of their social and environmental impacts. Components for evaluating sustainability include the particular vehicles used for road, water or air transport; th ...
initiative and since the naming many people have continued to call it the Green Bridge in preference to its official name.
Green power
To conserve energy consumption energy efficient and low wattage lights were used. Feature lighting was also minimised to reduce both power requirements and the impact of the bridge on the surrounding area. Cut-off timers and remote operation features were also incorporated to reduce the amount of unnecessary lighting while still maintaining a safe environment for users. The energy requirement of the bridge is generated by a high-profile solar roof, containing 108 x 175W panels. The solar roof feeds electricity back into the supply authority grid thereby offsetting the mains power electricity used by the bridge at night.
Incidents
On 24 October 2009, 21-year-old University of Queensland student Whitney Heuvel urged his friends to use a camera phone to film him jumping off the bridge. Intoxicated, he misjudged the rails and fell awkwardly, resulting in his death.
Gallery
Image:ESB Eleanor Schonell Bridge IMG 4738 (4292774028).jpg
Image:ESB Eleanor Schonell Bridge IMG 6142 (3410442866).jpg
Image:Eleanor Schonell Bridge, Brisbane 03.jpeg
Image:Eleanor Schonell Bridge, Brisbane 07.jpeg
See also
*
Public transport in Brisbane
Transport in Brisbane, the capital and largest city of Queensland, Australia, is provided by road, rail, river and bay ferries, footpaths, bikepaths, sea and air.
Transport around Brisbane is managed by the Queensland Government and the coun ...
*
Dutton Park Ferry
*
Brisbane Metro
References
External links
Green Bridge Project overview*
Google Earth (Version 4) 3D Model
{{Brisbane bridges navigation
Bridges in Brisbane
Bridges completed in 2006
Cable-stayed bridges in Australia
Public transport in Brisbane
Bridges over the Brisbane River
University of Queensland
Dutton Park, Queensland
St Lucia, Queensland
Road bridges in Queensland