Journal Article

This commemoration of the Story Bridge as it approaches its first half century, could not be more timely. As so much of our built environment is rapidly changing and many of our historical sites are being demolished and redeveloped, the significance of the Story Bridge as an important part of our industrial and engineering heritage is worth celebrating. But Brisbane is also currently facing the contentious issue of traffic problems, which some city planners and Main Roads experts would like to solve with major arterial and ring roads and perhaps even further cross river bridges - developments which local residents are firmly resisting. Consequently a reassessment of the bridge not only in terms of its engineering and technological feats, but also in terms of its social impact is an important priority for anyone concerned about enhancing the quality of life in this city. Such broad aims are beyond the scope of this paper, but it does hope to contribute to this discussion by attempting to situate the building of the bridge in the social and political context of the 1930s.