The route is mark as the M3 from the western part of the route, to the Horace Street interchange.
The motorway cost $220m to complete and incorporates a total of six lanes, four tunnels, 18 bridges and was the largest infrastructure engineering project undertaken in Queensland for decades. The route also includes a 350-metre-long (1,150 ft) tunnel under the RNA Showgrounds.
The ICB, built by the Brisbane City Council, is considered one of the most successful road projects in Brisbane, completed well before schedule, on budget, and to date is one of the most used road corridors in the city.
Construction
The ICB was laid in vacant land or connected pre-existing streets in Brisbane.
The Inner City Bypass was built in 3 stages:
Stage 1 – Hale Street to Campbell Street which opened during November 2001
Stage 2 – Campbell Street to Abbotsford Road which opened during February 2002
Stage 3 – Abbotsford Road to Kingsford Smith Drive which opened during July 2002
The Hale Street link to Coronation Drive was widened in 1994 along Boomerang Street, at a site which would later form the entrance to the ICB and the connection to the Go Between Bridge. This site was previously occupied by the Arnott's Biscuit Factory and adjoining carpark, which were controversially demolished.[2] Hale Street originally ran only between Milton Road and Musgrave Road. The ICB was built along vacant land, rail yards and playing fields. Gilchrist Avenue in Victoria Park previously extended to and joined Kelvin Grove Road, before being removed to make way for the ICB.[3]
An upgrade to increase the capacity of ICB was completed in 2018. This included widening each direction to four lanes and a new westbound on-ramp from Bowen Bridge Road.[4] The upgrade was funded and delivered by Transurban Queensland on behalf of Brisbane City Council. Following completion of the upgrade, Transurban Queensland manages the operations, maintenance and incident response along the ICB until 2065, while the road remains toll-free.[5] Transurban Queensland also does routine maintenance services on a 10 + 10-year contract.
Although not constructed as part of the TransApex project, the ICB plays an integral part in the connection of tunnels and other urban motorways within Brisbane's inner city. As a part of this, the Inner City Bypass has been connected to the Airport Link and the Legacy Way tolled tunnels.
The Airport Link was completed in mid-2012[6] and the Legacy Way in late June 2015.
^Cole, John (1984). Shaping a city : greater Brisbane 1925-1985 (1st ed.). Brisbane, Qld: William Brooks.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
^Gregory's Brisbane Refidex Street Directory (18th ed.). Gregory's. 1984.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)