Kingsford Smith Drive, Brisbane

Kingsford Smith Drive

Queensland
Kingsford Smith Drive; Queensland
	Kingsford Smith Drive at Hamilton, May 2015
General information
Type	Road
Length	7 km (4.3 mi)
Route number(s)	State Route 25
Major junctions
Southwest end	Breakfast Creek Road (State Route 25) Albion
	Inner City Bypass; Racecourse Road; Nudgee Road; Southern Cross Way; Links Avenue North; Gateway Motorway (M1);
Northeast end	Eagle Farm Road (State Route 25) Pinkenba
Location(s)
Major suburbs	Hamilton, Pinkenba

Kingsford Smith Drive is a major road in Brisbane. The road was named after the aviator Charles Kingsford Smith. It connects the suburb of Pinkenba to the Brisbane central business district at the Breakfast Creek. Kingsford Smith Drive is one of the busiest roads in Brisbane, carrying an average of 61,773 vehicles per day between July and December 2014.^[1]

History

The first road along the northern bank of the Brisbane River was constructed in 1829/1830.^[2] Convict labour was used to connect the main settlement to the women's gaol at Eagle Farm.^[2] In 1882, the road was still no better than a rough bush track.^[3]

The road was then known as Hamilton Road in one part and Eagle Farm Road in another part. In 1938, it was renamed Bailey Memorial Avenue in honour of John Frederick Bailey, Queensland Botanist and curator of the Botanic Gardens.^[4] However, this name was not used in practice and, in 1953, the road was again renamed after Charles Kingsford Smith^[5] although the idea of renaming it had been proposed back in 1938 when the Bailey Memorial Avenue was proposed.^[6]

The road was once the major access route to Brisbane's old airport terminals. In 2002 the Inner City Bypass, Brisbane was opened. This bypass allowed traffic joining the Pacific Motorway to avoid the smaller and sometimes congested city streets. In 2016 a major upgrade project was commenced, which completed a year later than scheduled in October 2020.^[7]

Route

The route runs along Hamilton Reach of the Brisbane River from Albion via Hamilton, before passing under the Gateway Motorway at Eagle Farm and continuing to Pinkenba. At Hamilton the Kingsford Smith Drive meets Racecourse Road at a T-intersection. During the annual Bridge to Brisbane the road is temporarily closed in one direction.

Congestion

In February 2007 it was announced by the Queensland Government that the road was to receive a major upgrade and that traffic rates were estimated at 67,000 vehicles a day.^[8] Traffic volumes on the road are increasing. This has led to a drop in the average speed on the road from 45 kilometres (28 mi) per hour in 2008 to 36 kilometres (22 mi) per hour in 2009.^[9] The Airport Link tolled tunnel project is expected to reduce traffic volumes by 12%.^[10]

Major intersections

The entire road is in the Brisbane local government area.

Location	km	mi	Destinations	Notes
Albion	0	0.0	Breakfast Creek Road (State Route 25) – south – Newstead	Western end of Kingsford Smith Drive (State Route 25)
Albion–Hamilton boundary	0.15	0.093	Inner City Bypass – west – Bowen Hills	No eastbound exit to Inner City Bypass. No westbound entry from Inner City Bypass.
Hamilton	1.9	1.2	Racecourse Road – north – Ascot, Eagle Farm Racecourse
	2.6	1.6	Nudgee Road – north – Ascot, Doomben Racecourse Remora Road – south – Portside Wharf
	3.8	2.4	Southern Cross Way – north – Hendra	No entry from Southern Cross Way. No exit to Southern Cross Way southbound.
	4.4	2.7	Links Avenue North – south – Southern Cross Way Schneider Road – north – Australia TradeCoast
	4.9	3.0	Gateway Motorway – south – Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges	No exit to Gateway Motorway northbound. No entry from Gateway Motorway southbound.
Pinkenba	7.0	4.3	Eagle Farm Road (State Route 25) – north–east – Pinkenba	Eastern end of Kingsford Smith Drive. State Route 25 continues north–east as Eagle Farm Road.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Incomplete access

Kingsford Smith Drive

Legend

Inner City Bypass

Amy Street│

Breakfast

Creek Road

Anges Street

local road connections

Hunt Street

Cooksley Street

Day Street

Toorak Road

Crescent Road

Grays Road

Quarry Street

service road

Riverview Terrace

Racecourse Road

local road connections

Harbour Road

Seymour Road

Northshore Way

Nudgee

Road

│

Remora

Road

local road connections

Oxford Street

College Street

Alison Street

Theodore

Street

│

Woonah

Avenue

Kenyon Street

Eagleview Place

Fison Avenue West

Southern Cross Way

local road connections

Bunya Street

Violet Street

Links Avenue

North

│

Schneider

Road

Harvey Street

Gateway Motorway

French Street

Pinkenba railway line

local road connections

Bunour

Holt Street

Sugarmill Road

local road connections

Meeandah

Randle Road

Curtin Avenue East

Farrer Street

Pinkenba balloon loop

Eagle Farm Road

References

^ Kristian Silva (18 March 2015). "Brisbane traffic increasing, report shows". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 16 September 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
^ ^a ^b Gregory, Helen (2007). Brisbane Then and Now. Wingfield, South Australia: Salamander Books. pp. 128–129. ISBN 978-1-74173-011-1.
^ Cole, John R. (1984). Shaping a city. Albion, Queensland: William Brooks Queensland. p. 16. ISBN 0-85568-619-7.
^ "Plans For Wider Roadways". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 30 March 1939. p. 3. Archived from the original on 22 December 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
^ "Hamilton Road". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 3 July 1953. p. 3. Archived from the original on 22 December 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
^ "Kingsford Smith Avenue Wanted". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 17 September 1938. p. 4. Archived from the original on 22 December 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
^ Stone, Lucy (27 October 2020). "Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade opens a year late but under budget". Brisbane Times. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
^ Wardill, Steven; Chalmers, Emma (26 February 2007). "Up for sale". The Courier-Mail. Archived from the original on 3 March 2007. Retrieved 10 March 2008.
^ Tony Moore (November 2010). "East West Link v Kingsford Smith Drive: The great infrastructure stand-off". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 4 November 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
^ Tony Moore (4 February 2010). "Kingsford Smith Drive getting worse". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 6 September 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2010.