All of Brisbane’s Story Bridge will this week be open for pedestrians, cyclists and scooter riders.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said locals will again be able to cross both sides of the bridge, with the second footpath reopening tomorrow (Thursday, November 13).
Lord Mayor Schrinner said more than 750m of new decking had been installed across the bridge’s eastern and city-side footpaths, restoring the popular cross-river connection.
He said strong, lightweight, custom-made panels had been fixed onto a locally sourced steel frame, replacing the old footpath decking with modern, durable infrastructure.
“This is the same proven material successfully installed at the Cultural Centre boardwalk in 2021.
“Our crews have done an incredible job, laying around 500 steel joists and 1,500 decking boards to get this vital link reopened.”
Lord Mayor Schrinner said the city-side footpath reopened in October, with Council crews installing the decking in less than nine weeks, while the installation of decking on the eastern path took 13 weeks and was completed months ahead of the forecast early-2026 opening.
“Since the contract for the custom-made replacement decking was awarded in June, crews have clocked up more than 4500 hours on site.”
He said the $7 million investment in the replacement footpath decking added to nearly $80 million invested in the Story Bridge since 2019.
“The footpath works are part of a long-term plan to keep the 85-year-old bridge in great condition for the future.”
Lord Mayor Schrinner said the next phase was to deliver a detailed business case to the Australian Government exploring funding options for future works.
“The business case continues to progress with industry engineering experts ARUP now appointed as technical advisors under Council’s delivery of the report.
“The Story Bridge is one of our city’s most love landmarks and we want it to continue serving residents safely now and in the future.”
