The Normanby Fiveways is the intersection of five major roads to the north-east of the

Brisbane central business district Brisbane City is the central suburb and central business district of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It is colloquially referred to as the "Brisbane CBD" or "the city". It is located on a point on the northern bank of the ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia.

Geography

The intersection consists of: * Musgrave Road to the north-west towards Red Hill and beyond to Brisbane's north-western suburbs. Musgrave Road becomes

Waterworks Road Waterworks Road is an arterial road in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is currently signed as State Route 31 for its entire length. Waterworks Road transports traffic between the Brisbane central business district and western suburbs such ...

at Red Hill, and links to outer-western suburbs such as Ashgrove and

The Gap The Gap may refer to: Places Australia * The Gap, New South Wales, a locality near Wagga Wagga, New South Wales * The Gap, Northern Territory, a suburb of Alice Springs, Northern Territory * The Gap, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland ...

* Kelvin Grove Road to the north towards Kelvin Grove and beyond to Brisbane northern suburbs * College Road to the east towards Spring Hill beyond to the north-eastern suburbs * Countess Street to the south-east towards the

Brisbane CBD Brisbane City is the central suburb and central business district of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It is colloquially referred to as the "Brisbane CBD" or "the city". It is located on a point on the northern bank of the ...

and the

William Jolly Bridge The William Jolly Bridge is a heritage-listed road bridge over the Brisbane River between North Quay in the Brisbane central business district and Grey Street in South Brisbane, within City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed ...

to the southern suburbs *

Petrie Terrace Petrie Terrace is an inner suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Petrie Terrace had a population of 1,124 people. Geography The suburb is by road west of the Brisbane General Post Office. The precinct is bordered to ...

(the road) to the south-west towards Petrie Terrace (the suburb) and to the western suburbs

History

The intersection takes its name from the

Normanby Hotel Normanby Hotel is a heritage-listed hotel at 1 Musgrave Road, Red Hill, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by John B Nicholson and built in by Thomas Game. It was extended in 1917 to a design by George Henry Male Addison ...

on the corner of Musgrave Road and Kelvin Grove Road, which in turn was named in 1872 most likely after the recently appointed

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the monarch of Australia. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governor Governors of the Australian states, performs c ...

George Phipps, 2nd Marquess of Normanby George Augustus Constantine Phipps, 2nd Marquess of Normanby (23 July 1819 – 3 April 1890), styled Viscount Normanby between 1831 and 1838 and Earl of Mulgrave between 1838 and 1863, was a British Liberal politician and colonial governor of Nov ...

. The opening of the Grey Street Bridge (subsequently renamed the William Jolly Bridge) in 1932 had considerable impact on the Normanby Fiveways. The Grey Street Bridge was intended to relieve congestion on the

Victoria Bridge Victoria Bridge may be a reference to: Bridges ;Australia * Victoria Bridge, Brisbane, a road bridge across the Brisbane River in Brisbane * Victoria Bridge, Devonport a road ridge across the Mersey River in Devonport, Tasmania * Victoria Bridge, M ...

and streets in the

by allowing traffic between the suburbs on either side of the river to bypass the CBD. However, this created additional traffic into the Normanby Fiveways, which with its unusual five-way traffic movement turned the Normanby Fiveways into one of Brisbane's most dangerous intersections. As a consequence, the introduction of

traffic lights Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traffic. Traffic light ...

to manage traffic flow through the intersection was proposed in 1939. However, by 1952, the Norman Fiveways was now the most congested intersection in Brisbane yet no action had been taken to introduce traffic lights as the government did not have the funds. Traffic lights and alternative strategies such as a subway to carry traffic going between Countess Street and Kelvin Grove Road continued to be proposed. In 1953, tenders were called for the provision of traffic lights which would be the most complicated traffic light system in Brisbane, due to the peculiar five-way character of the intersection. Meanwhile, a ban on paying police for overtime work meant the police who directed the traffic through the Normanby Fiveways finished work in the middle of the evening peak hour, creating traffic chaos. As at 2015,

(the road) is one-way north into the Fiveways while Countess Street is one-way south, simplifying traffic movement through the (now traffic light controlled) intersection. The construction of the Inner City Bypass and the

Go Between Bridge The Go Between Bridge, formerly known as the Hale Street Link, is a toll bridge for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists over the Brisbane River in inner-city Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The bridge connects Merivale and Cordelia Streets in ...

have removed much of the long-distance north-south traffic away from the Normanby Fiveways. The opening of the

Legacy Tunnel The M5 Legacy Way (formerly Northern Link Tunnel) is a long tunnel linking the Western Freeway at Toowong and the Inner City Bypass at Kelvin Grove, Brisbane. The project consisted of two bored tunnels carrying two motorway grade lanes of tr ...

in 2015 was intended to redirect a greater proportion of traffic to and from the western suburbs away from the Normanby Fiveways.

References

{{reflist Roads in Brisbane Unbounded localities in Queensland