page_title: Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Photographer: Paul Guard
context_page_description: The Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges are a side-by-side pair of road bridges on the Gateway Motorway, which skirts the eastern suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The western bridge carries traffic to the north and the eastern bridge carries traffic to the south. They are the most eastern crossing of the Brisbane River, the closest to Moreton Bay, crossing at the Quarries Reach, between Eagle Farm and Murarrie. The original bridge was opened on 11 January 1986 and cost A$92 million to build. The duplicate bridge was opened in May 2010, and cost $350 million.
  On 16 May 2010 the Queensland Government renamed the Gateway Bridge and its duplicate the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges. An opinion poll conducted by Brisbane's Channel Nine News, showed 97% of people were against the decision to rename the bridge and most people still call it the Gateway Bridge.
  A public open day for the duplicate bridge was held on 16 May and the new bridge was opened to traffic on 22 May 2010, six months ahead of schedule. Following the opening, the old bridge was refurbished, three vehicle lanes at a time. From November 2010 the two bridges carry 12 lanes of vehicle traffic.
context_section_description: Construction on the Gateway Bridge commenced on 5 June 1980. The construction of the bridge started before the design was completed, to fast track its construction. It was officially commissioned on 11 January 1986. On this day 200,000 people crossed the bridge by foot as part of the opening activities.
  In 1986 the bridge carried an average of 12,500 vehicles per day. In 2001 the bridge was crossed by 27 million vehicles (approximately 73,975 vehicles per day).  In early 2010 the single bridge was carrying an average of 100,000 vehicles per day.
  The annual Bridge to Brisbane fun run has begun from the southern entrance to the bridge for the past decade.
caption: Gateway Bridge Construction
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