Greater Brisbane key corridors performance July-December 2016
Greater Brisbane road network
This report provides information on the traffic volume and average speed for the Greater Brisbane key transport corridors over the July to December 2016 period. The corridors include Brisbane City Council (Council) and Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) managed roads.
Network summaries are presented in vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) and average network speeds. The report includes information on initiatives being undertaken by both organisations to manage congestion on the road network.
Report findings
There are 38 key corridors, comprising 342.1 kilometres of road, in the Greater Brisbane area. Council manages 18 of these corridors, equating to 102.1 kilometres of road and TMR manages the other 20, equating to 240 kilometres of road.
Network vehicle kilometres travelled increased by 0.5% from the same period last year.
| Peak average network speed details | Speed |
|---|---|
Weekday AM peak average network speed is 38.5 km/h:
| |
Weekday PM peak average network speed is 38.7 km/h:
|  |
- Bruce Highway (managed by TMR) is the busiest corridor with an average daily volume of 156,980 vehicles per day.
- Logan Road* (managed by Council) is the least busy with 20,944 vehicles per day.
- In the AM peak, August saw the lowest average speed at 36.74 km/h, while December had the highest average speed at 41.99 km/h.
- In the PM peak, November had the lowest average speed at 37.71 km/h, with December having the highest average speed at 40.22 km/h.
- In the AM peak, Centenary Highway* (managed by TMR) is the fastest at an average speed of 87.66 km/h (100 km/h speed limit); the slowest is Stanley Street (managed by Council) at 18.93 km/h (speed limit is 60 km/h with a school zone speed of 40 km/h on this corridor).
- In the PM peak, Centenary Highway* (managed by TMR) is the fastest at 94.08 km/h (100 km/h speed limit) and slowest is the East-West Arterial/Stafford Road corridor (managed by TMR) at 23.16 km/h (speed limit for the majority of this corridor is 60 km/h).
- Compared with the same period in 2015, AM peak average speed on Council’s 18 key corridors decreased by 1.5 km/h (4.8%) from 30.6 km/h to 29.1 km/h. PM peak average speed decreased by 2.3 km/h (6.3%) from 36.3 km/h to 34.1 km/h.
- Compared with the same period in 2015, AM peak average speed on TMR’s 20 key corridors increased by 0.9 km/h (2.2%) from 40.1 km/h to 41.0 km/h. PM peak average speed decreased by 0.8 km/h (1.9%) from 40.7 km/h to 39.9 km/h.
Logan Road*: Between Old Cleveland Road and Klumpp Road
Centenary Highway*: Between Logan Motorway and Ipswich Motorway
Compiled by Council, with data and analysis jointly undertaken by Council and Transport and Main Roads. Incident data provided by the Brisbane Metropolitan Transport Management Centre (BMTMC).
Greater Brisbane key corridors
Note: Speed data for the July-December 2015 period was not available for the following corridors: 9b – Old Northern Road, 13c – Moggill Road (2) and 16b – Warwick Road.
Network vehicle kilometres travelled summary
Average vehicle kilometres travelled of 38 key corridors by month
Traffic volume and vehicle kilometres travelled
All traffic volume data takes into account both directions of travel and includes weekdays only and excludes public holidays. Traffic volumes on TMR’s corridors were taken at the road segment with the highest volume. Council corridor traffic volumes were taken in the middle segment of the corridors.
The average daily traffic volume for the month is the number of vehicles utilising the corridor per day, averaged over all weekdays of the month (excluding public holidays).
AM peak period for TMR’s corridors is from 6am to 9am as the TMR network is utilised earlier, particularly on the outer edges of the Greater Brisbane road network (for example, the Bruce Highway and the Pacific Motorway). Council corridors’ AM peak period is from 7am to 9am. PM peak periods are the same for both TMR and Council corridors, 4pm to 7pm. The monthly AM and PM peak per hour traffic volumes are the average hourly volume for the month over the corresponding AM and PM peak periods, respectively.
Vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) is a measure of traffic demand on the road network. It is the length of a section of road in kilometres multiplied by the average traffic volume on that section. The daily VKT is the product of the length of the road and average daily traffic (ADT). The monthly VKT is the daily VKT multiplied by the number of days in the analysis period.
The AM peak monthly VKT is the product of the length of the road, the average AM peak hourly traffic volume and number of days in the analysis period.
The PM peak monthly VKT is the product of the length of the road, the average PM peak hourly traffic volume and number of days in the analysis period.
The network VKT is the sum of all the corridors in the network.
Greater Brisbane network vehicle kilometres travelled July to December 2015 and 2016
Council network vehicle kilometres travelled July to December 2015 and 2016
TMR network vehicle kilometres travelled July to December 2015 and 2016
Average network speed summary
Average speed of 38 key corridors
Average speed in kilometres per hour is a measure of traffic efficiency on the road network.
Average speed is calculated using travel times collected from TMR’s and Council’s extensive network of Bluetooth scanners within the Greater Brisbane road network. Average corridor speed includes delays at signalised intersections.
Average travel times were collected during the AM and PM peak periods to calculate the average speed of the corridor. Peak periods are similarly defined as in the VKT calculations. AM peak travel time is taken as the inbound direction while the PM peak travel time is the outbound direction.
Greater Brisbane network average speed July to December 2015 and 2016
Council network average speed July to December 2015 and 2016
TMR network average speed July to December 2015 and 2016
State Government Congestion Initiatives
Transport and Main Roads (TMR) has a number of policies, strategies and projects which are addressing traffic congestion in Greater Brisbane, including those listed below.
- Travel options and travel information – creating a public transport and active transport network that has greater accessibility, frequency and reliability (ongoing funding of principal cycle network, QLDTraffic website and smartphone app, real time-bus information, enhanced train timetable). QLDTraffic was launched in February 2017, providing dynamic and real-time travel information through a new website https://qldtraffic.qld.gov.au/ and a smartphone app.
- Development of a Smarter Solutions: Network Optimisation Framework to help identify low-cost and non-infrastructure solutions that effectively respond to capacity and reliability constraints across Queensland’s transport network and within our current fiscal environment.
- Improved incident management including traffic response units (with Council).
- Signal network optimisation.
- Managed motorway operations (for example, South East Freeway ramp signalling, Ipswich Motorway Lane Use Management, Port of Brisbane Variable Speed Limit operations and Bruce Highway ramp signals and variable speed limits).
- The development of tools to quantify excessive congestion (accepting that a certain level of congestion is inevitable), and using this to prioritise possible upgrade to the network (intersection and route ranking), and quantify the causes of congestion. This tool will assist transport planning and road operations.
- State-wide rollout of Emergency Vehicle Priority on state-controlled roads.
- Improved traffic management at roadworks.
- Using Queensland Government's Project Assurance Framework in investment decision-making to maximise the benefits returned to government from project investments.
- Increased capacity – there have been significant projects to address the growing traffic demands on the road network such as Gateway Upgrade North and Ipswich Motorway.
Ipswich Motorway: Rocklea to Darra – Stage 1
The project upgrades a 3 km section of the Ipswich Motorway from Granard Road, Rocklea to Oxley Road, Oxley. This is the next most critical section of the remaining 7kms of the Ipswich Motorway still to be upgraded. More than 85,000 vehicles use the motorway daily including 12,000 commercial vehicles.
This section is a very constrained corridor, passing through high-density commercial industrial precincts. The project will include upgrading 3 km of the motorway from four to six lanes, constructing higher bridges over Oxley Creek and a new southern service road connection from Boundary Road to Factory Road.
Works will be staged to effectively manage the upgrade of the motorway while under live traffic conditions. The project will improve traffic flow and reduce congestion creating more reliable, consistent travel times. It will also improve safety, local connectivity and flood immunity. The contract for design and construction is expected to be awarded in the first half of 2017.
The Australian and Queensland Governments have committed funds for the $400 million upgrade on a shared basis.
Gateway Upgrade North (GUN)
This $1.143 billion project will ease congestion and improve safety on one of Queensland’s busiest motorways. Once completed, the project from Nudgee to Bracken Ridge will increase capacity and freight efficiency along this important corridor.
Carrying more than 83,000 vehicles a day, the Gateway Motorway North experiences high levels of congestion. The project will not only improve travel time reliability, but also improve safety and increase efficiency of the city’s motorway network and connectivity to key urbanised areas.
In particular, the Deagon section has a poor traffic incident record and a high number of merge/weave movements, highlighting the need for significant safety improvements.
The upgrade aims to benefit the community by improving motorist safety, reducing congestion and accommodating for future traffic growth.
This project will upgrade the motorway from four to six lanes between Nudgee and Deagon, with additional pavement rehabilitation and safety works through to Bracken Ridge. It also includes reconfiguring the Nudgee interchange, construction of a new off-road cycle path connecting to local networks, widening of the Deagon Deviation to two lanes in each direction between Depot and Bracken Ridge Roads, and providing of a grade-separated interchange between the Gateway Motorway and the Deagon Deviation at Deagon.
Early works began in 2014, and major construction activities commenced in early 2016. This project is scheduled for completion in late 2018.
The Gateway Upgrade North project is jointly funded by the Australian Government ($914.18 million) and Queensland Government ($228.54 million) on a 80:20 split. The upgrade is being delivered by TMR, which has engaged Transurban Queensland to assist in managing the delivery of the major works package.
Council congestion initiatives
Council is committed to reducing congestion and improving safety and access across the city through a network-wide focus on traffic improvements to meet current and future traffic volumes along Brisbane’s road network corridors.
This means building an improved road and transport network across Brisbane through a range of key projects including major road construction and intersection upgrades. To improve access to major transport networks, Council is also working to minimise traffic congestion and to improve safety in local areas by constructing intersections, corridor upgrades and minor road projects.
Two such major projects are the Wynnum Road corridor upgrade and the Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade, which are profiled below.
Wynnum Road corridor upgrade Stage 1
The Lytton Road-Wynnum Road corridor is designated as an arterial route in the Brisbane City Council City Plan and as a regional radial road in the Transport Plan for Brisbane 2008-2026. Its primary transport function is to provide an access between suburban/commercial catchments in the eastern suburbs of Brisbane, the CBD and beyond.
The corridor is a strategic link in Brisbane’s road network and provides a connection between Clem7 and Airport Link, as well as a link for commuters between the eastern suburbs of Brisbane, Fortitude Valley, and the CBD. It also links to the southern suburbs of Brisbane via Wellington Road and Latrobe Street and the northern suburbs of Brisbane via the Story Bridge.
Currently, the Wynnum Road corridor, between Latrobe Street and Canning Bridge (the focus of Stage 1 works) carries more than 56,000 vehicles per day with travel speeds continuing to slow due to increasing congestion with peak period durations extending.
This project is part of Council’s commitment to reduce traffic congestion, improve travel times and improve safety for all road users, and will widen the four-lane stretch of Lytton Road from Latrobe Street to Canning Bridge to six lanes.
It will see travel times in this section of Lytton Road cut by approximately 50%, during peak periods with increased capacity on the road to cater for the predicted future increase in traffic volume.
The upgrade also facilitates an improvement in public transport along the road, with indented bus stops and improved pedestrian and cycle facilities.
Stage 1 works include:
- widening Lytton Road between Latrobe Street and Canning Bridge from four to six lanes to provide an additional inbound and outbound lane
- upgrading the bend at Heidelberg Street to improve safety
- increasing lane widths to improve safety
- relocating and signalising the intersection at Laidlaw Parade and Lytton Road to provide access for local residents and a safe crossing point for pedestrians and cyclists
- improving safety and traffic flow by installing a centre median to prevent right-turns into private properties and local side streets
- rationalising and indenting bus bays along the project area to reduce the impact on traffic flow and improve efficiency
- providing a designated two-way off-road cycle path between Mowbray Park and Laidlaw Parade and a shared path between Mowbray Park and Wellington Road
- undergrounding the existing overhead service lines to improve amenity and safety.
Profile: Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade
Kingsford Smith Drive is a major road linking Brisbane CBD to the Brisbane Airport, Port of Brisbane, Northshore Hamilton and the Australia Trade Coast area.
Council is upgrading Kingsford Smith Drive to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety on this busy road, as well as improving active and public transport facilities.
This critical upgrade will create an entry statement to Brisbane, transforming one of the city’s most significant routes into a vibrant urban corridor with the Brisbane River as the centrepiece.
The upgrade will boost business and economic development, expanding one of Brisbane’s most important traffic corridors to help future-proof our New World City.
Works are currently underway on the Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade to widen the road from four to six lanes between Theodore Street at Eagle Farm and Cooksley Street at Hamilton. This includes significant service relocation works, earthworks and river-based construction activities, impacting both Kingsford Smith Drive and local connecting side streets.
Traffic changes were implemented along the corridor in September and October 2016 to improve safety and allow sufficient space for the construction works on the upgrade to occur. This has included installing traffic barriers and reducing the speed limit to 40km/hr at the western end of the upgrade, and 50km/hr at the eastern end of the upgrade. There are also temporary changes to side streets on an as-needs basis. With the introduction of these traffic changes, the average speed during the AM and PM peaks has decreased by 2.3% and 5.9% respectively.
Benefits of the Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade include:
- up to 30% travel time savings for all vehicles, including cars, buses and trucks
- $70 million in new cycle and pedestrian facilities
- 7 kilometres of new and improved pedestrian and cycle paths
- more than 3000 direct and indirect jobs over the life of the project
- improved public transport provision, enabling future increases in bus services to cater to growth in the local area
- improved safety for all road users
- improved urban amenity and green spaces, including a new park at Bretts Wharf.
Construction of the upgrade is expected to be complete in 2019.
Congestion Busting Projects – Arterial Road Program
The Arterial Road Program (ARP) delivers low-cost, high-impact projects to reduce traffic congestion across Brisbane.
The ARP uses reputed traffic signal intersection modelling software, SIDRA, as the primary decision-making tool to determine the net economic benefits (value for money) for project works undertaken.
The following case studies look at two types of projects delivered from this program. The first type uses existing road space and reconfigures it by making changes to line markings, medians and signage. The second type involves the construction of additional road space on the network to achieve minor road widening or lengthening.
CASE STUDY: Road space reconfiguration
Example: Logan Road at Mountain Street and Springwood Street, Mount Gravatt
Logan Road is a significant road corridor that provides links to the Central Business District (CBD), motorways and major shopping centres. Logan Road at Mountain Street and Springwood Street is an un-signalised, four-way intersection that carries approximately 30,000 vehicles each day.
During the afternoon peak (4-7pm), vehicles turning right from Logan Road into Mountain Street would block one of the through lanes as there was no right-turning pocket. This created congestion and caused additional lane changes for through traffic.
The Arterial Road Program determined there was sufficient road space on Logan Road to remove the existing painted chevron island and create a 30 metre right-turn lane for vehicles turning right from Logan Road into Mountain Street. Project modelling highlighted the works would deliver significant community benefit with improved travel times and reduced delays.
This low-cost, high-impact project was delivered for approximately $16,000 and completed within three days.
Council’s Bluetooth data highlights the project’s success in reducing congestion on this segment of road by measuring travel time between the intersections of Logan Road and Invermore Street and the signalised pedestrian crossing at Mt Gravatt shops.
The project has resulted in an 11% improvement in travel time for the 30,000 motorists that pass through this intersection every day.
The table below highlights a number of other reconfiguration projects delivered over the reporting period.
Road space reconfiguration projects for July to December 2016
| Street location | Suburb | Project description | Completed | Improvement (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Logan Road at Herrick Street | Mount Gravatt | Extended the right-turn lane from Logan Road into Herrick Street for the southbound direction. | Nov 2016 | 5% |
Persse Road at Beenleigh Road | Runcorn | Extended left and right-turning lanes from Persse Road into Beenleigh Road from 55 metres to 165 metres. | Oct 2016 | 9% |
Archerfield Road at Poinsettia Street | Inala | Extended right-turn lane from Archerfield Road into Poinsettia Street for the southbound direction. | Oct 2016 | 7% |
Pinelands Road at Beenleigh Road | Sunnybank Hills | Second right-turn lane provided on Pinelands Road into Beenleigh Road. | Jun 2016 | 12% |
Ipswich Road at Cornwall Street | Woolloongabba | Extended right-turn lane from Ipswich Road into Cornwall Street for the southbound direction. | Apr 2016 | 6% |
CASE STUDY: Road space construction
Example: Boundary Road at Troughton Road, Coopers Plains
Boundary Road provides an important link between eastern and western suburbs by connecting to Beaudesert Road and the Gateway Motorway. Troughton Road is a four-way intersection controlled by traffic lights and carries approximately 25,000 vehicles each day.
The existing right-turn lane from Boundary Road into Troughton Road was unable to accommodate the number of vehicles wanting to turn right and the queue blocked the through lane, creating congestion.
Delivering this Congestion Busting Project required the right-turn lane on Boundary Road to be extended by 20 metres.
To extend the right-turn lane, construction works realigned the existing kerb to give sufficient width for the two through lanes and the extended right-turn lane.
Traffic modelling demonstrated that this project would reduce congestion, improve travel times and reduce vehicle emissions.
This low-cost, high-impact project was delivered in May 2016 for approximately $186,000.
Council’s Bluetooth data highlights the project’s success in reducing congestion on this segment of road by measuring travel time between the intersections of Boundary Road with Orange Grove Road, McCullough Road with Station Road and Troughton Road with Turton Street.
The project has resulted in a 17% improvement in travel time for the motorists travelling between Orange Grove Road and Turton Street. Additionally, travel time has reduced by 6% for motorists travelling north and east between Turton Street and Station Road.
Congestion Busting Projects July to December 2016
The following projects were completed within this reporting period. Improvements in travel time have been noted below where Bluetooth data is available.
Project location | Suburb | Project description |
|---|---|---|
Archerfield Road at Poinsettia Street | Inala | Extend the right-turn lane on the northern leg. (Resulting in a 7% improvement.) |
Arrabri Avenue at Dandenong Road | Mount Ommaney | Extend the right-turn lane and change the lane usage on Arrabri Avenue. |
Beenleigh Road at Mains Road | Sunnybank | Extend the right-turn lane from Beenleigh Road into Mains Road. |
Bennetts Road at Macrossan Avenue | Norman Park | Extend the right-turn lane from Bennetts Road into Macrossan Avenue, by cutting into the median. |
Blunder Road at Freeman Road | Durack | Provide a dedicated right-turn lane and shared through/left lane on the Freeman Road approach. |
Hamilton Road at Spence Road | Wavell Heights | Provide a right-turn lane into Spence Road, and realign the centre line. |
Logan Road at Herrick Street | Mount Gravatt | Extend the right-turn lane on Logan Road southbound. (Resulting in a 5% improvement.) |
Logan Road at Mountain Street | Mount Gravatt | Provide a right-turn lane from Logan Road into Mountain Street for the southbound direction, by realigning lanes (width available in the existing painted median). |
Persse Road at Beenleigh Road | Runcorn | Extend the existing left-turn lane from Persse Road into Beenleigh Road inbound. (Resulting in a 9% improvement.) |
Abbotsford Road at Edmondstone Road | Bowen Hills | Extend the right-turn lane from Abbotsford Road into Edmondstone Road. |
Hargreaves Road at Manly Road | Wakerley | Provide a double-right turn from Hargreaves Road into Manly Road. |
Factors Affecting Network Performance
Traffic volume and travel times are also affected by other factors, including traffic incidents. These incidents, such as accidents, extreme weather and planned events, influence the amount of congestion experienced on the roads. Depending on the timing, location, severity and duration, an incident may have minimal effect on the road network or cause gridlock in large parts of the city.
Specific incidents can have a greater impact on the road network. Emergency works, for example water main repairs on the Bruce Highway, can have a significant impact on the average incident clearance times, and hence the journey times. Incidents that require emergency service attendance can take up to four hours to clear, depending on the severity and location of the incident.
Issues with trains, ferries and buses, including planned incidents and maintenance or unpredicted extreme weather events, can have a significant impact on the road network as commuters switch modes of transport. An example of this includes the planned rail line closure between Caboolture and Zillmere in September 2016 to bring the new Moreton Bay Rail Link online.
There are also locations within the city that are particularly susceptible to excess congestion when a minor incident happens. Examples of these include Hale Street and Merivale Street. The BMTMC continue to proactively manage incidents as they happen to minimise impacts to residents, businesses and travellers within Greater Brisbane.
The data detailed in this report specifically analysed significant incidents that had the potential to have a major impact on the road network.
BMTMC collected and compiled this incident data for roads throughout the Greater Brisbane metropolitan area.
Significant incident data
This data is a collection of traffic crashes, hazards and stationary vehicles that impacted the road network. It does not cover planned events/roadworks, alerts, congestion incidents, or quick clearance towing for TMR and Council clearway towing.
Month | Number of incidents | Average duration¹ (HH:MM:SS) |
|---|---|---|
July | 412 | 00:47:04 |
August | 374 | 00:46:46 |
September | 357 | 00:55:27 |
October | 384 | 01:02:41 |
November | 394 | 00:54:16 |
December | 316 | 01:11:53 |
Range of durations of significant incidents
This graph shows the range of durations¹ in minutes of significant incidents.
¹ Incident duration is measured from the time BMTMC is notified about the incident until the time the incident is resolved (cleared from the road).