Opening of Gateway Bridge

Date: January 11, 1986 • Location: Murarrie, Australia

The Gateway Bridge (pictured) in Brisbane, Australia, opened as the largest prestressed-concrete, single-box bridge in the world.

The Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges, formerly and still collectively referred to as the Gateway Bridge, are a pair of twin road bridges that carry the Gateway Motorway (M1) over the Brisbane River, skirting the eastern suburbs of the city of Brisbane. The western bridge carries traffic to the north and the eastern bridge carries traffic to the south. They are the most eastern crossings of the Brisbane River and the closest to Moreton Bay, crossing at the Quarries Reach and linking the suburbs of Eagle Farm and Murarrie. The original western bridge was opened on 11 January 1986 and cost A$92 million to build. The duplicate bridge was opened on 22 May 2010, and cost $350 million.