Brisbane's AU$ 282 million bus network expansion scheme awarded

The Eastern Busway Alliance - Leighton Contractors, the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, SKM and AECOM - has been awarded the AU$ 282 million (US$ 236 million) contract to deliver the Eastern Busway - Buranda to Main Avenue to expand Brisbane's busway network.

The Eastern Busway Alliance will design and construct the 1.05 km section of busway including new busway stations at Stones Corner and Langlands Park, along with a combination of tunnels and bridge structures.

The Eastern Busway - Buranda to Main Avenue will offer commuters a congestion-free run on fast, frequent and reliable public transport by:

• cutting up to eight minutes off bus trips through the most congested section of Old Cleveland Road
• saving regular commuters from Coorparoo to Brisbane City nearly 1.5 hours in travel time per week
• bypassing four sets of traffic lights and the heavily-congested Logan Road/O'Keefe Street roundabout at Buranda.

By 2016, this section of busway will carry 7000 passengers in the morning peak - two extra traffic lanes would need to be built along Old Cleveland Road to carry the same number of passengers by car.

The Eastern Busway forms part of the Queensland Government's AU$ 465.8 million (US$ 389 million) project to extend the busway network from the South East Busway at Buranda to Main Avenue, Coorparoo.