Bowen Bridge & approach walls

In 1935 signals had been installed at the busy Bowen Road level crossing, where electric trams far outnumbered trains. Co-incident with this work was the widening of Bowen Bridge road, between Gregory Terrace and the new Women’s Hospital during 1939-40. 

The Queensland Government’s Coordinator General of Public Works arranged for the construction of the Bowen Bridge road viaduct and the project was well advanced by the close of 1940. A reinforced concrete bridge and embankment to carry all road traffic (including trams) was constructed over the former exhibition railway level-crossing. The relocation of services, including water and electricity, accounted for half the total cost of the Bowen Bridge scheme. Savings were made by reclaiming rock removed from the wall at the hospital frontage and utilising it on the Breakfast Creek Canalisation Works. 

On 5 November 1940, Council called for tenders to dress and finish the stone wall at Bowen Bridge Road on the General Hospital frontage, together with an access road to the hospital and extension of drainage from Campbell Street to O’Connell Terrace. During this period, the widening of Bowen Bridge Road from Herston Road to Butterfield Street also commenced. Both works were well advanced at 30 June 1941, and the entire project was completed in December of that year. 

Since then, the intersection of Bowen Bridge Road and Herston Road has been modified on several occasions. In December 1999, the Brisbane City Council awarded Leighton Contractors a contract to design, construct and maintain the Inner City Bypass. The tunnel below the Bowen Bridge area is part of Stage 1 of the Bypass that extends from Hale Street in Milton to O’Connell Terrace. This part was opened in November 2001.

Northern approach The approach to the bridge from the north begins near the RNA gates. The Bowen Bridge Road carriageway is supported on the eastern side by a battered porphyry wall that increases in height as it approaches the bridge. Atop the wall is an in-situ concrete barrier featuring recessed arched panels. A crude barbed wire fence has been angled away from the barrier to prevent access to the RNA grounds below. 

On the western side, none of the original approach remains following the Inner City Bypass works. The new concrete balustrade is a replica of the original. On the eastern side, a section of wall and balustrade lining through with the new tunnel below has been removed and replaced. The new opening in the stonework is clearly defined on each side and reveals the new supporting structure for the roadway over the tunnel.

The bridge

The reinforced concrete bridge over railway lines comprises 4 spans. The bridge’s piers taper in section from bottom to top and feature a series of arches. On each side of the bridge the piers are connected by shallow arches. The piers divide the balustrade above into simple rectangular panels. 

Southern approach 

The battered porphyry wall supports the carriageway on both sides of the southern approach. On the eastern side the concrete balustrade with the arched panels resumes south of the bridge and continues until it abuts the brick and cast iron fence to the old Queensland Museum’s grounds. On the western side the porphyry retaining wall is visible from the access road to the railway line.  

Located at one of the busiest intersections in Brisbane, Bowen Bridge and its approach walls have withstood numerous roadworks and have been modified to accommodate the Inner City Bypass running below. Although the stone retaining wall has been disrupted on the eastern side, its gently tapering curved approach to the bridge is still apparent.

1. Brisbane City Council - City Assets Branch Conservation Management Study Stage 1 Report. November 2002