Neville Bonner Bridge

The  Neville Bonner Bridge  is a footbridge spanning the Brisbane River in Brisbane, Australia, connecting the incomplete Queen's Wharf precinct in the Brisbane central business district to the South Bank Parklands in South Brisbane. The bridge is complete, but not yet open to the public, as it is part of the incomplete Queen's Wharf project, which is projected to open in August 2024.

It is named after Neville Bonner, Australia's first Indigenous member of the Parliament of Australia.

The design concept for the bridge, by Grimshaw Architects, is an arch and single mast cable-stayed bridge with continuous shading supported by one mid-river pier. A large observation deck is located in the centre of the bridge.

Up to 10,000 people are expected to use the bridge every day. Cyclists will not be permitted to use the bridge. The cost for the bridge's construction was estimated in 2019 to be around $100 million.

History
The bridge is part of the Queen's Wharf development in the Brisbane central business district. Construction on the bridge had begun by March 2020. During construction in June 2021, the Riverside Expressway was partially closed so that pieces of the bridge could be placed above the road. Close to the banks piles were dug 30 metres into the ground to support the structure, while in the river a depth of 35 metres was reached. The final 10-metre, 20-tonne span was placed on the morning of 27 February 2023.

Design
The bridge was designed by Neil Stonell from Grimshaw Architects. The “lightweight yet dramatic” design incorporates 1,000 tonnes of fabricated structural steel, engineered to create an “elegant and efficient outcome”. The cable-stayed bridge is 320 m long. The maximum mast height is 75 m. The clearance for river vessels is 11.4 to 12.7 m from high water level to the bridge deck. This is the same height as the Victoria and Captain Cook Bridges. The bridge is fully shaded.

It features two arches, each 60 metres long and weighing 90 tonnes. The walkway is suspended from the arches which reach a height of 30 metres above the river. The majority of the load is placed on the central pier. A piled abutment foundation at Southbank is used to tie back the arches. The bridge has been designed to withstand wind speeds greater than 220 km per hour and to resist a 1 in 2000-year flood event.