Waterworks Road is an

arterial road An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below freeways/motorways on the road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and speed. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector r ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

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 , establishe ...

, Australia. It is currently signed as State Route 31 for its entire length. Waterworks Road transports traffic between 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 ...

and western suburbs such as Red Hill, 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 ...

History

Waterworks Road was built on a

Turrbal The Turrbal are an Aboriginal Australian people from the region of present-day Brisbane, Queensland. The name primarily referred to the dialect they spoke, the tribe itself being alternatively called ''Mianjin/Meanjin''. Mianjin was the Turrba ...

pathway that led to

Mount Coot-tha Mount Coot-tha is a mountain and a suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , there were no residents in the suburb. Visible from much of the city, Mount Coot-tha is a popular bushland tourist destination including the Mou ...

– a place of the honey-bee Dreaming. It was surveyed and named in 1864 as a direct route to the site of the

Enoggera Dam The Enoggera Dam is a heritage-listed dam, which is located within the outer, western suburb of Enoggera Reservoir, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. History The Enoggera Dam was constructed in 1866, on the upper reach of Breakfast Creek (w ...

, which was built from 1864 to 1866. A small Catholic Church was built on Waterworks Road in 1921, and St Finbarr’s Catholic primary school in 1925. The tram line was extended from Red Hill to Jubilee Terrace in 1924, and then to Coopers Camp Road in 1935. This line operated continuously until it was closed in 1969. Examples of 1920s and later trams are shown.

Route

Connecting to the terminus of Musgrave Road (which leads into the city), Waterworks Road begins as a four-lane road in Red Hill. The road then leads into the central section of Ashgrove and intersects with major roads such as Jubilee Terrace and Stewart Road. Once the road reaches West Ashgrove, it is divided into two roads; the inbound road being Glory Street. After intersecting Coopers Camp Road, Waterworks Road forms back into a single, four-lane road and continues into The Gap. Once in The Gap, Waterworks Road intersects with Settlement Road, which connects traffic from The Gap to Keperra. Following this major intersection, Waterworks Road becomes a two-lane road and terminates at The Gap Park 'n' Ride. It connects to Mount Nebo Road, which travels to rural suburbs

Mount Nebo Mount Nebo ( ar, جَبَل نِيبُو, Jabal Nībū; he, , Har Nəḇō) is an elevated ridge located in Jordan, approximately above sea level. Part of the Abarim mountain range, Mount Nebo is mentioned in the Bible as the place where Moses ...

and

Mount Glorious Mount Glorious is a rural locality in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Mount Glorious had a population of 296 people. Geography Mount Glorious is a mountain which is part of the D'Aguilar Range and is a suburb in Moreton ...

. In most sections of the road, there is a T2 Lane which operates between 7-9am on weekdays.

Terrain

From Musgrave Road, Waterworks Road descends the north-western slope of Red Hill until it crosses

Ithaca Creek Ithaca Creek is a waterway in the Enoggera Creek catchment, in the western suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It arises in the Taylor Range at the Mount Coot-tha forest with two streams, one arising at J C Slaughter Falls, the other an ...

. It then climbs to the ridge line between Ithaca Creek and

Enoggera Creek Enoggera Creek is a creek which flows through the City of Brisbane in South-East Queensland, Australia. Geography Enoggera Creek rises in the suburb of Enoggera Reservoir on the D'Aguilar Range and flows into the Brisbane River (becoming ...

, and continues west to the Coopers Camp Road intersection. From there it descends rapidly into the Enoggera Creek valley and proceeds west into the gap between the

Taylor Range The Taylor Range or Herbert Taylor Range is a mountain range on the western edge of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was first named The Glenmorrison Range by John Oxley during his exploration of the area in January 1824. In 1828, the colon ...

to the north and Mount Coot-tha to the south. After crossing Enoggera Creek at Walton Bridge it follows the ridge line between Enoggera Creek and Fish Creek to its transition to Mt Nebo Road.

Upgrade

In 2018, it was proposed that Waterworks Road required an upgrade between Trout Street and Beth Eden Terrace in Ashgrove to improve traffic efficiency, reduce congestion and improve safety of road users. The upgrade includes the addition of a secondary right-turn lane on the Waterworks Road - Stewart Road intersection, the addition of a left-turn lane on the Waterworks Road - Ashgrove Avenue intersection and the relocation of Bus stop 16 on Waterworks Road. Construction began in April 2019.

Local heritage places

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 ...

has defined a number of local heritage places in Waterworks Road under the

Queensland Heritage Act 1992 The ''Queensland Heritage Act 1992'' is an act of the Parliament of Queensland that establishes a legislative framework for registration protection of places of local and statewide significance. The Act established the Queensland Heritage Coun ...

. They are: * Stewart Place (including war memorial and tram shelter) * Residences at 150 and 180 Waterworks Road * Churches at 202 and 290 Waterworks Road * Ashgrove Private Hospital (former) * Montvue Buildings * Ithaca Bridge * Two tram shelters (example shown)

Major intersections

The entire road is in the

local government area.

References

External links

Waterworks Road, The Gap 1940s.
{{Road infrastructure in Brisbane Red Hill, Queensland Roads in Brisbane Ashgrove, Queensland The Gap, Queensland