Brisbane City Council defers plan for South Bank underground station

The Brisbane City Council has announced that it will effectively “defer” plans for the South Bank underground station as part of the Brisbane Metro project.

According to Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner, the deferral of the underground station until a later date would mean priority works can accelerate.

“We’ve been working with the State Government for almost a year, trying to finalise the design for the Cultural Precinct underground station and on Wednesday we agreed the deferral to a later stage was the correct decision so we can get on with the job,” Cr Schrinner said.

“It is a very complex project, with many stakeholders and it’s going to take time to finesse the Cultural Centre design, so we will not let this one site delay Brisbane Metro and its 2600 jobs any further.

Cr Schrinner said deferring the Cultural Centre Station to a later stage of the project was the most cost-effective and practical option for now and this is the best value plan for residents.

“Brisbane Metro is about getting people home quicker and safer, and spending more time arguing about the design of the Cultural Centre Station won’t get residents home quicker.

“We will continue early works around the Cultural Precinct so that the underground station can be delivered as part of a later stage; future-proofing the project.

“Importantly, our modeling also shows that retaining and upgrading the existing street-level station at the Cultural Precinct will have no impact on Brisbane Metro travel times,” Cr Schrinner said.

“This is the best outcome for ratepayers as well as the workers and suppliers waiting for jobs and opportunities flow from the Brisbane Metro project,” Cr Schrinner said.

While the Victoria bridge will now be converted into a green bridge, allowing only buses, cycling and pedestrians, the current Grey Street intersection will still exist for the time being.

Cr Schrinner also confirmed the construction methodology of the Adelaide Street tunnel will also change.

“Instead of the original cut-and-cover design, this section will be bored. This will minimise traffic disruption and allow us to deliver elements of the Adelaide Street vision,” Cr Schrinner said.

“By tunneling under Adelaide Street, we can maintain connection along one of Brisbane’s busiest streets, as well as minimise disruption to business,” Cr Schrinner said.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said design work for a new Metro station at Southbank’s Cultural Centre precinct was continuing.

“Building the Cultural Centre Station is a fantastic opportunity to improve Brisbane’s cultural heart and our public transport network,” Mr Bailey said.

“We’ll continue to work with Brisbane City Council through that process while it gets started on other parts of the Metro project.”

Brisbane Move has been selected as the preferred tenderer for the major infrastructure works for the bi-articulated metro bus project.

The consortium for Brisbane Move comprises Acciona Construction Australia Pty Ltd and Arup Australia Projects Pty Ltd.

ACCIONA and ARUP will partner with Council to form the Collaborative Partnership to design and deliver the major infrastructure works for the project.

The Brisbane Metro project has evolved considerably since its inception, below is a brief timeline of the project’s evolution.

Brisbane Metro – Project Evolution Timeline

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