Expressway - The Australian Highway Site: Road Photos & Information: QLD: SR27 (Metropolitan Region)

Road Photos & Information: Queensland

Webster Road, Ellison Road, Murphy Road, Handford Road, Lemke Road, Depot Road, Board Street, Southerden Street, Brisbane Street, Wakefield Street, Brighton Terrace, Beaconsfield Terrace, Hornibrook Highway, Houghton Highway, Hornibrook Esplanade, Oxley Avenue and Landsborough Avenue (State Route 27) (Metropolitan Region)

Statistics:

Length:: 30 km
Termini:: Northern: Thurecht Pde (unnumbered), Bird O'Passage Pde (unnumbered) and Reef Point Esp (unnumbered), Scarborough; Southern: Stafford Rd (Metroad 5) and Webster Rd (unnumbered), Stafford
Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along Route:: Stafford, Stafford Heights, Chermside West, Aspley, Geebung, Zillmere, Taigum, Bracken Ridge, Deagon, Sandgate, Brighton, Clontarf, Woody Point, Margate, Redcliffe and Scarborough

Route Numbering:

Current: 27
Multiplexed with: 26
Road Authority Internal Classification: ¹: 122 (Brighton to Redcliffe)

General Information:

State Route 27 is an arterial route that links Brisbane's northern suburbs with Brisbane's northern bayside suburbs. The route is a mix of divided and undivided roadway and passes through mostly residential and commercial areas.

SR27 features Ted Smout Memorial Bridge over Bramble Bay, which parallels the remains of the timber bridge that formed the Hornibrook Highway.

Ted Smout Bridge:

Australia's longest bridge, the Ted Smout Memorial Bridge is named after Queensland's longest-surviving World War I veteran, who lived until June 22, 2004 when he died at age of 106. He served until 1919 in France and Belgium. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1978, France's Legion of Honour in 1979, was made the Australian Citizen of the Year in 1979 and Brisbane's Citizen of the Year in 2000. ²

The Ted Smout Memorial Bridge has 78 spans at 35.2 m per span with a total bridge deck length of 2746 m. Each span consists of eight Super-T girders around 35.2 m in length and weight of about 82 t each. Each pier has two 1500 mm diameter cast in-situ piles with a load capacity in excess of 1400 t each. ³

Houghton Highway:

James (Jim) Edward Harim Houghton was elected Mayor of Redcliffe in 1955. He held this position for nine years before resigning to become the first Member for Redcliffe in the State Parliament. He resigned from Parliament in 1979. In 1979 the Houghton Highway bridge opened and was named in his honour. ⁴

Hornibrook Highway:

The Hornibrook Highway was a 294 span, 2684 m long bridge predominately consisting of a timber superstructure (decking, girders, corbels) supported by a reinforced concrete substructure. The bridge deck was covered by a thin layer of asphalt. The bridge which crossed Bramble Bay was built as a toll bridge by the firm M.R. Hornibrook Pty Ltd. The construction of the bridge provided much needed employment during the depression of the 1930s. When it was constructed, the Hornibrook Highway was the longest road viaduct over water in Australia. ⁵

Multiplexes along the route include:

: State Route 26, for 3 km, between Brighton and Clontarf.; North Moreton Bay Tourist Drive, for 6 km between, Brighton and Woody Point.

History:

: 1932: Work begins on the Hornibrook Highway Bridge. ⁶; 4 October 1935: The Hornibrook Bridge opened to traffic. ⁵; 1975: The forty year toll period ended on the Hornibrook Bridge in 1975, at which time the ownership and maintenance responsibility reverted to Main Roads. In 1979 the Hornibrook Highway was closed pending refurbishing. When closed to traffic, a closer investigation of the Hornibrook Highway was possible. This revealed that deterioration of the bridge was more advanced than previously believed. ⁵; 1977: Construction begins on Houghton Highway bridge. The Houghton Highway bridge was funded entirely by the Queensland Government, and was constructed by Barclay Brothers of Brisbane. ⁴; 1979: Hornibrook Bridge closed to traffic. ⁷ By the 1960s, traffic had increased significantly and the decision to build a new bridge was made in mid-1974. ⁴; 20 December 1979: The original Houghton Highway bridge opened to traffic. ⁴; 3 September 1982: Houghton Highway Safety improvements to bridge including traffic signals, variable message signs, emergency telephones and street lamps. ⁸; 2002: Electronic lane control system on original Houghton Highway bridge becomes operational. The system consisted of a system of lights and changeable message signs was linked to Main Roads Woolloongabba traffic management centre. ⁹; July 2008: The first foundation piles of the Ted Smout Memorial Bridge were installed in Bramble Bay. ¹⁰; 15 July 2010: The Ted Smout Memorial Bridge, linking Clontarf on the Redcliffe Peninsula and Brighton on the Brisbane side, opened to traffic. ⁶; 19 August 2011: Houghton Highway Upgrades to existing bridge and Hornibrook Highway intersection. ⁸

Image © Rob Tilley

Scarborough to Stafford

Intersection Directional Sign:

ID sign at the corner of Oxley Av (SR27) and Anzac Av (SR71) at Redcliffe, January 2009.

Image © Rob Tilley

Distance Sign:

RD sign on Ted Smout Memorial Bridge, as Houghton Hwy crosses Bramble Bay at Brighton, July 2010.

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign approaching Hornibrook Hwy (SR27), Deagon Deviation (SR26) and Brighton Park at Brighton, July 2010.

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign on the offramp from Gateway Mwy (M1) at Deagon approaching Depot Rd (SR27), July 2011. Though SR40 is signposted, it isn't duplexed with SR27.

Intersection Directional Sign:

ID signs facing the offramp from Gateway Mwy (M1) at the Depot Rd (SR27) junction at Deagon, July 2011.

Trailblazer Assembly:

Trailblazers along Depot Rd (SR27) approaching the SR40 section of Depot Rd and Lemke Rd (SR27) at Deagon, July 2011.

Intersection Directional Sign:

ID sign at the junction of Depot Rd (SR40) and Lemke Rd (SR27), July 2011. SR27 turn left at this junction.

Trailblazer:

SR27 trailblazer on Lemke Rd near Cabbage Tree Creek at Deagon, July 2011.

Intersection Directional Sign:

ID sign on the roundabout of Webster Rd (SR27) and Hamilton Rd at West Chermside, November 2009.

¹ QLD Government, Department of Transport and Main Roads, Queensland state-controlled roads and region maps, Metropolitan Region, November 2022.
² Brisbane Times, Australia's longest bridge opens at Redcliffe, 12 July 2010.
³ QLD Government, Department of Transport and Main Roads, Queensland Roads, Edition 8, Houghton Highway Duplication - Ted Smout Memorial Bridge, March 2010.
⁴ QLD Government, Department of Transport and Main Roads, Houghton Highway Fact Sheet 2, June 2007.
⁵ QLD Government, Department of Transport and Main Roads, Queensland Roads, Edition 1, Hornibrook Highway Condition Assessment, March 2006.
⁶ John Oxley Library, New Bridge to Redcliffe, 22 Sep 2010.
⁷ ABC Local Radio, 612 ABC Brisbane, Ted Smout Memorial Bridge opens, 12 July 2010.
⁸ Tyler Bullock.
⁹ QLD Government, Media Releases, All systems go for new Houghton Highway lane control system, 1 May 2002.
¹⁰ QLD Government, Department of Transport and Main Roads, Construction Update, Houghton Highway Duplication Project, August 2008.