The Story Bridge will close to all traffic for up to three weeks from December 27, 2026, to January 18, 2027, as Brisbane City Council moves through the final stages of its renewal plan for the crossing.
For Fortitude Valley and Kangaroo Point residents, that means no cars, buses, or cyclists on the bridge through the Christmas and New Year period.
What the closure means for getting across the river
The bulk of the works during the shutdown will take place on the southern approach to the bridge, with additional major works on sections of the Bradfield Highway. The eastern footpath will stay open throughout the full closure, so pedestrians and cyclists can still cross on the footpath side.
The closure window sits squarely over the busiest travel period of the year. Anyone planning a trip across the river between Christmas Eve and mid-January will need to factor in the detour. The council has positioned the renewal as a long-term fix: the plan is to keep the bridge in service for the next 100 years.
A community memory project runs alongside the works
As part of the renewal planning, the council is inviting residents to submit their favourite memory of the Story Bridge. It is a small gesture, but it underscores how deeply the structure is woven into the daily rhythm of the inner north. For many of us, the bridge is less a piece of infrastructure and more the sound of the river, the “ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum” of the cantilever trusses, the view from the footpath on a Sunday morning.
Nearly 90 years of service
The Story Bridge has been in continuous service for more than 86 years. Construction began on May 24, 1935, and the bridge opened on 6 July 1940, after five years of building. The original cost was £1.6 million, a sum described at the time as enormous and the largest public investment Queensland had made up to that point.
Named after John Douglas Story, the steel cantilever structure is Australia’s longest of its type. It has served as a key transport link, a centrepiece for major city events, and one of the most recognisable features of the Brisbane skyline. The renewal works are designed to ensure it keeps doing all three for another century.
For now, the bridge remains open.
The full shutdown is roughly 10 weeks away, and the council’s page on the project carries the latest updates on traffic management and detour routing for the closure period.
Adapted from Brisbane City Council, https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/transport-and-parking/transport-projects/story-bridge-renewal (CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
