The Story Bridge is a

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many ...

steel

cantilever bridge A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end (called cantilevers). For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beam (structure), beams; however, large cantilever ...

spanning 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 ...

that carries vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the northern and the southern suburbs of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

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. It is the longest cantilever bridge in Australia. The road across the bridge is named Bradfield Highway. The bridge connects

Fortitude Valley Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedestri ...

to Kangaroo Point. The Story Bridge opened in 1940 and was tolled until 1947. It is named after prominent public servant

John Douglas Story John Douglas Story (7 August 1869 in Edinburgh, Scotland – 2 February 1966 in Brisbane, Australia). Also known as J. D. Story, he migrated to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, with his parents, as a child, and attended Brisbane Grammar Scho ...

History

Given the early settlement of Kangaroo Point, there is a long history of residents wanting a bridge between 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 Kangaroo Point. Even while the first

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 ...

was being constructed between North Brisbane and

South Brisbane South Brisbane is an inner southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , South Brisbane had a population of 7,196 people. Geography The suburb is on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, bounded to the north-west, ...

in 1865, several hundred people were petitioning for a second bridge to be built from the

Customs House A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting c ...

to Kangaroo Point. In 1888, a meeting was held in the Brisbane Town Hall to demand a bridge connecting either George Street, Albert Street or Edward Street via the

City Botanic Gardens The City Botanic Gardens (formerly the Brisbane Botanic Gardens) is a heritage-listed botanic garden on Alice Street, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was also known as Queen's Park. It is located on Gardens Poin ...

with any loss of the land from the gardens to be potentially compensated by removing

Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries. Gover ...

Planning

A bridge downstream of the

was part of a larger plan, devised by Professor Roger Hawken of the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

in the 1920s, for a series of bridges over the

to alleviate congestion on Victoria Bridge and to divert traffic away from 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 ...

. 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 ...

was the first of the Hawken Plan bridges to be constructed. Lack of funds precluded the construction of the downstream bridge at that time. Initially plans called for a

transporter bridge A transporter bridge, also known as a ferry bridge or aerial transfer bridge, is a type of movable bridge that carries a segment of roadway across a river. The gondola is slung from a tall span by wires or a metal frame. The design has been use ...

further downstream near

New Farm New Farm is an inner northern riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , New Farm had a population of 12,542 people. Geography The suburb is located 2 kilometres east of the Brisbane CBD on a large bend of the ...

. In 1926 Kangaroo Point was recommended by the Brisbane City Council's Cross River Commission. Subsequently, the bridge was constructed as a

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

program during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. The cost was to be no more than £1.6 million.

Construction

Before the opening of the

Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North Shore. The view of the bridg ...

in 1932 the

Government of Queensland The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy was form ...

asked John Bradfield to design a new bridge in

. The Queensland Government appointed John Bradfield on 15 December 1933 as consulting engineer to the Bureau of Industry who were in charge of the construction of the bridge. In June 1934 Bradfield's recommendation of a steel cantilever bridge was approved. The design for the bridge was based heavily on that of the

Jacques Cartier Bridge The Jacques Cartier Bridge (french: pont Jacques-Cartier) is a steel truss cantilever bridge crossing the Saint Lawrence River from Montreal Island, Montreal, Quebec, to the south shore at Longueuil, Quebec, Canada. The bridge crosses Saint Hel ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, completed in 1930. On 30 April 1935 a consortium of two Queensland companies,

Evans Deakin Evans Deakin & Company was an Australian engineering company and shipbuilder. In 2019, the company was inducted into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame in recognition of its major contributions to the Queensland economy for nearly a ce ...

and

Hornibrook Constructions Sir Manuel Richard Hornibrook OBE (7 August 1893 – 30 May 1970) was an Australian builder and civil engineer. He founded the firm M R Hornibrook Pty Ltd that after merger with Baulderstone became one of the largest Australian civil engineerin ...

, won the tender with a bid of £1,150,000.'Story Bridge: Idea to Icon' by Michael Moy, published Alpha Orion Press, Brisbane, 2005 Inspection of the Story Bridge

Construction on the bridge began on 24 May 1935, with the first sod being turned by the then

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is ap ...

William Forgan Smith William Forgan Smith (15 April 188725 September 1953) was an Australian politician. He served as Premier of the state of Queensland from 1932 to 1942. He came to dominate politics in the state during the 1930s, and his populism, firm leadership ...

. Components for the bridge were fabricated in a purpose-built factory at

Rocklea Rocklea is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Rocklea had a population of 1,595 people. Geography Rocklea is located 9 kilometres south of the city. The west of the suburb is bordered by the Oxley Creek. The ...

. There are 1.25 million rivets (metal pins or bolts) in the Story Bridge. During its construction, work sometimes continued 24 hours per day. The bridge has only one pier on the northern bank but two piers on the lower southern bank, one to bear the weight (the main pier) and, further to the south, one to prevent the bridge from twisting (the anchor pier). There was no need for an anchor pier on the northern bank as the bridge was anchored into

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes o ...

cliff face. The primary challenge in constructing the bridge was the southern foundations that went below ground level. It was not possible to excavate to that level as water from the level would rapidly seep in. So a pneumatic caisson technique had to be used. As men were working under pressures of up to 4 times normal air pressure, a decompression period of almost 2 hours was needed at the end of each shift to avoid the bends. An on-site air lock hospital successfully treated the 65 cases of the bends that occurred. On 28 October 1939 the gap between the two sides was closed. A concrete decking was then laid, covered by a Trinidad pitch topping. The bridge was painted and sodium lighting was installed. The bridge approaches were also prepared. Three men died during the construction of the bridge. On 22 November 1937, Hans James Zimmerman slipped and fell to the ground. On 7 February 1939, Alfred William Jackson fell from the bridge into the river. Although pulled from the water alive, he died 4 hours later in hospital without regaining consciousness. On 6 December 1939, Arthur McKay (Max) Wharton was hit by a piece of equipment on a nerve that made him faint, falling from the bridge to the water; 18 months earlier Wharton had been hailed as a hero for saving another worker from falling from the bridge.

Naming

Until it was completed, the bridge was known as the Jubilee Bridge in honour of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

. It was opened on 6 July 1940 by

Sir Leslie Orme Wilson Sir Leslie Orme Wilson, (1 August 1876 – 29 September 1955) was a Royal Marines officer, Conservative politician, and colonial governor. He served as Governor of Bombay from 1923 to 1926 and as Governor of Queensland from 1932 to 1946. Per ...

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 ...

and named after

, a senior and influential public servant who had advocated strongly the bridge’s construction.

Operations

Brisbane CBD and Brisbane River views from Bowen Terrace 01

The bridge carries an average of 97,000 vehicles each day. The Story Bridge carries three lanes of traffic in either direction as well as a shared pedestrian and cycle way flanking each side. The road on the bridge is called the Bradfield Highway. It is not to be confused with the Bradfield Highway that spans the

. Initially a toll of sixpence (5 cents) was charged to use the bridge, with toll booths constructed at the southern end of the Bradfield Highway. The toll was removed in 1947. Between 1952 and 1969 trolley-buses operated by the

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisd ...

used the bridge. Following completion of the bridge, an expressway was constructed on the southern side of the bridge (opened 18 May 1970), and a tunnel/loop was constructed at Kemp Place on the northern side (completed 10 July 1972).

Maintenance

Resurfacing works were undertaken in 1994. The Story Bridge was closed to traffic from midnight of Friday 3 January 2014 until 5.30 a.m. Monday, 6 January 2014, for essential maintenance work of resurfacing all six lanes. Closure for maintenance occurred again from 9 p.m. Friday 27 April 2018 until 5 a.m. Monday 30 April 2018.

Role in contemporary Brisbane

The Story Bridge features prominently in the annual Riverfire display and is illuminated at night. In 1990 road traffic was halted so pedestrians could celebrate the 50th anniversary of the bridge's construction. The bridge was again closed to road traffic on 5 July 2015 to celebrate the 75th anniversary. The celebration attracted almost 75,000 visitors to the bridge who enjoyed food, drink and entertainment as they walked across lanes usually reserved for vehicles. Bridge climbs began in 2005 and have become a popular tourist attraction. A picture of the bridge featured on Brisbane Bitter.

Suicides

Similar to many large bridges such as the

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Pen ...

in San Francisco, Brisbane's Story Bridge has become notorious as a suicide hotspot. Following two high-profile murder-suicides from the bridge in 2011 and 2012, Brisbane Lord Mayor

Graham Quirk Graham Quirk (born c. 1958) is a former Australian politician who served as the 16th Lord Mayor of Brisbane. From 2008 until 2011, he was Deputy Lord Mayor under Campbell Newman, succeeding the latter when Newman became the Premier of Queenslan ...

announced plans to install free telephones linked to suicide prevention hotlines. On 6 February 2013, Quirk announced plans to install a three-metre-high safety barrier. Overall the plan cost about $8.4 million and was completed in December 2015.

Heritage listing

The bridge was listed on the

Queensland Heritage Register The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As a ...

in 1992. In 1988, the bridge received a Historic Engineering Marker from

Engineers Australia Engineers Australia (EA) is an Australian professional body and not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance the science and practice of engineering for the benefit of the community. Engineers Australia is Australia's recognized org ...

. In 2009 as part of the

Q150 Q150 was the sesquicentenary (150th anniversary) of the Separation of Queensland from New South Wales in 1859. Separation established the Colony of Queensland which became the State of Queensland in 1901 as part of the Federation of Australia. Q15 ...

celebrations, the Story Bridge was announced as one of the

Q150 Icons The Queensland's Q150 Icons list of cultural icons was compiled as part of Q150 celebrations in 2009 by the Government of Queensland, Australia. It represented the people, places and events that were significant to Queensland's first 150 years. ...

of Queensland for its role as a "structure and engineering feat".

References

External links

*
Story Bridge under construction, 1939
This photo is held by John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Image number: 185055
Brisbane City Council – Captain Burke Park

– includes a short video.

{{Brisbane landmarks Bridges in Brisbane Bridges completed in 1940 Bridges over the Brisbane River Former toll bridges in Australia Cantilever bridges Steel bridges in Australia Road bridges in Queensland Queensland Heritage Register Fortitude Valley, Queensland Kangaroo Point, Queensland 1940 establishments in Australia History of Brisbane Articles containing video clips Recipients of Engineers Australia engineering heritage markers Q150 Icons