Kingsford Smith Drive is a major road in

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 ...

. The road was named after the aviator

Charles Kingsford Smith Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith (9 February 18978 November 1935), nicknamed Smithy, was an Australian aviation pioneer. He piloted the first transpacific flight and the first flight between Australia and New Zealand. Kingsford Smith was b ...

. It connects the suburb of

Pinkenba Pinkenba is a town and eastern coastal suburb within the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Pinkenba had a population of 368 people. Geography Pinkenba is a long narrow strip of land on the northern side of the Brisbane River ...

to 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 ...

at the

Breakfast Creek The Breakfast Creek ( Aboriginal: ''Barrambin'') is a small urban stream that is a tributary of the Brisbane River, located in suburban Brisbane in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. Course and features Rising as the Enoggera Cre ...

. Kingsford Smith Drive is one of the busiest roads in Brisbane, carrying an average of 61,773 vehicles per day between July and December 2014.

History

The first road along the northern bank of 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 ...

was constructed in 1829/1830. Convict labour was used to connect the main settlement to the women's gaol at

Eagle Farm Eagle Farm is an eastern industrial suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Eagle Farm had a population of 0 people. The neighbourhood of Whinstanes is located in Eagle Farm (). Geography Eagle Farm is situated no ...

. In 1882, the road was still no better than a rough

bush track Bush track is a term used in horse racing to describe unsanctioned, informal horse races run in rural areas of the United States and southern Canada. Quarter horses, ridden by amateur jockeys, are raced on makeshift tracks, often set up in the fiel ...

. The road was then known as Hamilton Road in one part and Eagle Farm Road in another part. In 1938, it was renamed Bailey Memorial Avenue in honour of

John Frederick Bailey John Frederick Bailey (5 August 1866 – 19 May 1938) was a botanist and horticulturist active in Australia in the late 19th and early 20th century. Bailey became Director of the Botanic Gardens of Brisbane in 1905. He succeeded his father, Fre ...

, Queensland Botanist and curator of the

Botanic Gardens A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

. However, this name was not used in practice and, in 1953, the road was again renamed after

although the idea of renaming it had been proposed back in 1938 when the Bailey Memorial Avenue was proposed. The road was once the major access route to Brisbane's old airport terminals. In 2002 the

Inner City Bypass, Brisbane M3 Inner City Bypass (ICB) is a major motorway standard bypass in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Bypassing the Brisbane central business district to the north, it connects Brisbane’s Pacific Motorway and Go Between Bridge at Hale Street to ...

was opened. This bypass allowed traffic joining the Pacific Motorway to avoid the smaller and sometimes congested city streets. In 2016 a major upgrade project was commenced, which completed a year later than scheduled in October 2020.

Route

The route runs along Hamilton Reach of the Brisbane River from

Albion Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than 'Britain' today. The name for Scot ...

via

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, before passing under the

Gateway Motorway The Gateway Motorway (M2 to Eight Mile Plains and M1 to Pine River) is a major tolled motorway in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia which includes the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges (former Gateway Bridge). The motorway is operated by toll road opera ...

at Eagle Farm and continuing to Pinkenba. At Hamilton the Kingsford Smith Drive meets Racecourse Road at a T-intersection. During the annual

Bridge to Brisbane Bridge to Brisbane is an annual long-distance fun run over a distance of or held in Brisbane, Australia in August. The first race occurred in 1997 with fewer than 5000 entrants and each year the event raises funds for charity. 2007 saw 24,3 ...

the road is temporarily closed in one direction.

Congestion

17-07-09 Kingsford Smith Drive Upgrade 2

In February 2007 it was announced by the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended fr ...

that the road was to receive a major upgrade and that traffic rates were estimated at 67,000 vehicles a day. Traffic volumes on the road are increasing. This has led to a drop in the average speed on the road from per hour in 2008 to per hour in 2009. The Airport Link tolled tunnel project is expected to reduce traffic volumes by 12%.

Major intersections

The entire road is in the

local government area.

References

External links