CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
Brisbane is once again proving itself to be the adrenaline junkie capital of the world, after debuting a scary new bridge climb on the M1 motorway.
The new tourism destination is aimed at encouraging more Queenslanders to travel domestically, as COVID-19 continues to keep the borders closed.
Both Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and former Broncos great Wally Lewis were present at the ribbon-cutting ceremony this morning, to unveil the new Queensland Tourism project.
“The Storey Bridge is pretty high up, but it’s not that scary. We still were being outshone by the Harbour bridge” said Schrinner.
“That’s why we’ve decided to take her up a notch”
“This will be the world’s first bridge climb where tourists have to dodge cars with no emergency lane. It’s essentially the Queensland version of running with the bulls. Except we’ll be doing three climbs a day”
Bridge climbers will have the option of both inbound and outbound traffic, depending on their competencies in highway jaywalking.
The Gateway Bridges, also known as the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges, also known as ‘The Veronicas’ are a side-by-side pair of road bridges on the Brisbane’s M1 motorway which skirts the eastern suburbs of Queensland’s south-east corner. The western bridge carries traffic to the north and the eastern bridge carries traffic to the south.
The original bridge (formerly named the Gateway Bridge) was opened on 11 January 1986 and cost A$92 million to build – most of which was covered by toll booths that the voters were told would be removed after it was paid. The duplicate bridge was opened in May 2010, and cost $350 million and the people of south East Queensland are expecting to be paying tolls on it forever.
At today’s opening, special guest Wally Lewis said it will be great for tourists to get a good look at his part of the world through the steel anti-jumper guards.
“You look one way and you can see the beauty of the meatworkers district in Colmslie and Cannon Hill, you look the other way and it’s nothing but the factories and mangroves of Port”
“This is the real Brisbane”
