Statistics:
- Length:
- 27 km (Salisbury to Toowong: 14 km) (Wooloowin to Clayfield: 3 km) (Mururrie to Mt Gravatt: 10 km)
- Termini:
- Eastern: Logan Rd (SR95), Mount Gravatt
- Western: Orange Grove Rd (SR11) and Toohey Rd (SR11), Salisbury
- Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along Route:
- (Western Section) Salisbury, Moorooka, Rocklea, Sherwood, Graceville, Chelmer, Indooroopilly, Taringa and Toowong
- (Northern Section) Wooloowin and Clayfield
- (Eastern Section) Mururrie, Cannon Hill, Carina, Carina Heights, Mount Gravatt East and Mount Gravatt
Route Numbering:
- Current: 20
- Multiplexed with: 26 33
- Road Authority Internal Classification: 1
- U19 (Wooloowin to Clayfield)
- U88 (Clayfield)
General Information:
State Route 20 is a three-section urban arterial route in Brisbane. The eastern section is mostly divided road and most of the northern and western sections are undivided.
The route passes through commercial, residential and industrial zones and features the Walter Taylor Bridge over Brisbane River. It was designed by and named after Brisbane engineer and builder Walter Taylor. The bridge uses surplus steel cables from the Sydney Harbour Bridge and was originally called the Indooroopilly Toll Bridge and features tollmaster accommodation. 2 The bridge is 182.9 m in length. 3
The route was much larger, continuous and formed a ring road through the suburbs of Brisbane. When Metroads were introduced during the 1990s, the route was truncated into several sections.
Multiplexes along the route include:
- State Route 26, for 400 m, Clayfield.
- State Route 33, for 2 km, between Indooroopilly and Toowong.
History:
- 1932: Construction begins on Indooroopilly Toll Bridge. 3
- 1936: Conclusion of Indooroopilly Toll Bridge construction. 3
- 14 February 1936: Opening of Indooroopilly-Chelmer Bridge (Indooroopilly Toll Bridge) by Sir Leslie Orme Wilson, Governor of Queensland.
- 1955: Walter Taylor passes away. 2
- 1956: Indooroopilly Toll Bridge renamed to Walter Taylor Bridge. 2
- 1965: Toll removed from Walter Taylor Bridge. 2
- 1993: State Route 20 discontinued on Ipswich Road, south of Sherwood Road and for its entire length along Granard Road to Newnham Road to make way for Metroad 2. It was also removed on Lytton Road and across the Gateway Bridge. 4 State Route 20 replaced by Metroad 1 along Gateway Arterial Road and also by Metroad 5 between Toowong and Kedron.
- 2 June 2010: Old overpass with Southern Cross Way (former Gateway Mwy) demolished. 5
- November 2010: New overpass with Southern Cross Way opens to traffic. 6
- 30 May 2011: Final interchange configuration with Airport Link Tunnel, East-West Arterial Road and Sandgate Road opens to traffic. State Route 20 replaced by M7 along East-West Arterial Road as a result.7
- 2012: Widening along Oxley Road.
1 QLD Government, Department of Transport and Main Roads, Queensland state-controlled roads and region maps, Metropolitan Region, November 2022.
2 Your Brisbane: Past and Present, Walter Taylor Bridge, Indooroopilly, 14 February 2011.
3 Nicholas Janberg's Structurae, Walter Taylor Bridge.
4 QLD Government, Transport and Main Roads, from correspondence from April 2012.
5 QLD Government, Ministerial Media Statements, Demolition begins on old Gateway Motorway Overpass, 2 June 2010.
6 QLD Government, Ministerial Media Statements, New Airport Flyover Open To Motorists A Year Early, 4 November 2010.
7 QLD Government, Ministerial Media Statements, New intersection opens ahead of schedule, 30 May 2011.