heh inbound on the riverside this afternoon wasnt a car park for once. other direction was still the same though :(

missing hale street and the riverside expressway was pretty good, soon as I came out of the tunnel onto the M1 back down to 60

I'm thinking of going for a joy drive tonight. Something about entering a tunnel that excites me.

sexy

im gonna take a sick day tomorrow so i can stay up late tonight and fool around in the tunnel a bit

you might want to disable the cameras first.

I am happy to get s*** for it. I am severely claustrophobic and should never have attempted it, but I did because I thought I would get over it. No such luck :/

It's a pretty short tunnel really. 5 mins and your done :/

Thats what she said.

I am happy to get s*** for it. I am severely claustrophobic and should never have attempted it, but I did because I thought I would get over it. No such luck :/

heh there is an article in todays courier mail that says claustrophobics shouldnt go into the tunnel.

yeah lowgoz is splat. whoop.

Ok more questions answered

8 speed cameras due to 2 x lanes in 2 x tunnels, so you really only pass through two. Its to stop asshats crashing their cars and ending up like diana

of course the tunnel has backup generators. They tell you to turn your lights on so other people can see you. You'd never know if the power went out, nothing would change.

rebroadcast is of every station, but if you think about it they only need very low power, its not like when your driving normally your radio is picking up really strong signals. Stop the cancer fear BS.

If you are at the bowen hills end, you will see construction of airport link flyovers. This means that you will be able to exit the tunnel out there and get straight onto airport link which essentially is a tunnel straight out to the airport.

GPS does not work in the tunnel. Even if it did, the flyovers and tunnel itself isn't mapped yet.

If you are at the bowen hills end, you will see construction of airport link flyovers. This means that you will be able to exit the tunnel out there and get straight onto airport link which essentially is a tunnel straight out to the airport.

That sounds pretty sweet, probably be an expensive journey though :(

fake plates

I read the original cancer thing as a joke
kind of like my censorship comment

of course the tunnel has backup generators. They tell you to turn your lights on so other people can see you. You'd never know if the power went out, nothing would change.

Depends on the system they have, but the lights (except for battery powered emergency lighting) probably would go out until the generators kicked back in.

Just did the tunnel, good stuff :)

GPS does not work in the tunnel. Even if it did, the flyovers and tunnel itself isn't mapped yet.

Even if it was, it's not like the GPS is going to tell you to take a sharp left 60m underneath the river either.

Went through the tunnel both ways today. Driving north my radio coverage kept getting interrupted with advice there was congestion ahead. I got the picture the first time, particularly since I drove past the congestion on my way through the first time. I understand that the broadcast probably can't be directed at sections of the tunnel, but the tunnels are obviously independent of each other.

All in all, it was a good to drive through it once, but I don't see myself using it once the toll kicks in, particularly since it's actually quite boring.

Also, the sign-age should be improved, as the exit onto the ICB isn't clear.

lol some retard rode his bike through it.

I wonder if the Google Car will go through.

lol some retard rode his bike through it.

Hah what? Link?

It was in today's Courier Mail.

i dont remember seeing any signs saying that was prohibited

Tunnel was ok spose... Claustrophobia is ridiculous in there. As if you'd be scared, it's the most nonthreatening tunnel ever la ^^

i dont remember seeing any signs saying that was prohibited

theres quite a few signs saying what vehicles are prohibited.

particularly since it's actually quite boring

It's a long traffic tunnel, of course it's boring.
Did you expect portholes so you can see the fishes swimming in the river?

http://clem7.com.au/content/2178/VEHICLE-RESTRICTIONS

Did you expect portholes so you can see the fishes swimming in the river?

That would have been awesome, since I did miss having a view, however, the tunnel goes under the river, not along the bottom, so no fishes would be able to be seen.

My comment was based on the hype that surrounded the tunnel. I merely expected the tunnel to live up to that hype, particularly since this was the first (serious) tunnel I had driven through.

not to mention the fact that riding on highways/motorways/freeways is completely illegal

Tunnel is back to being tolled as of this morning, but with 30% off (not sure if that's all vehicle classes, only briefly saw the sign on the way northbound).

Will be interesting to see what happens.

Personally I think the $4.28 is too steep.

The Tunnel opening made a significant difference to my commute to and from work (I don't use the tunnel) so I hope that doesn't change.

I'm on holidays this week so they'll have 1 week to sort it out!

last edited by mission at 09:11:51 06/Apr/10

I do see a lot of people using the tunnel, though no-where near as much as when it is free. So your commute should still be slightly faster.

Anyone with a company vehicle will surely use the Tunnel. Most Tradies I know said they couldn't justify the extra $45 a week to use it. Some have said they will use it though, as it all goes back off tax.

still free between midnight and 5am i think, or something around that time frame
sounds like they're trying to avoid what happened with Sydney's cross city tunnel

sounds like they're trying to avoid what happened with Sydney's cross city tunnel

and that is?

$900m The cost of building the tunnel.

$350m Estimated sale value.

$570m What the banks are owed.

$220m Likely loss for the banks.

$100m The looming court claims.

97,000 Original daily traffic estimate.

30,000 The current daily traffic flow.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/fire-sale-as-tunnel-price-plummets/2007/02/07/1170524164264.html

Basically. No-one used it because the Toll-Fee was too high.
Much like the White-Elephant a few people are predicting the Clem7 will become.

and that is?

no one used it for ages because it was ridiculously expensive

edit: beaten+ ^

to put things into perspective, the few minutes you'll save each day will cost you $2k/year at 48 weeks

last edited by tequila at 11:37:58 06/Apr/10

You'll save a bit in fuel and wear and tear on your car though which will be a small saving to offset the toll cost.

I reckon the $4.28 is too high.

$2.50 sounds good to me. I'd use it daily for that if using it was an option for me.

Why dont they offer a discount for the 2nd trip in 24hrs or even 12 ?

It shouldn't be tolled if it is such an integral part of Brisbane Traffic management.

That being said, I have absolutely no reason to use it. It would only be of use to me if I was going to Stones Corner or something near and that doesn't really happen.

I used it the other day purely to use it, to get to my destination from Holland Park to Kelvin Grove it would have been better to go a different route, but I used the tunnels, it took a similar amount of time but I would normally have to pay for it :/

why don't they learn from others mistakes and not set ridiculous toll charges from the get go
c***s put the gateway tolls up to try and force people through the new tunnel, all it seems to have done is increased congestion through the city

Out of curiosity is it a flat fee or is it cheaper for bikes?

Still over here in Canada... but I'll be back in a week.
Missed the free period, but if it is infact free after midnight I'll take a run through it just for the hell of it to take a look.

No use to me for where I go but hopefully inbound traffic on the freeway will be a bit less which will benefit me.

last edited by rubba-chikin at 11:56:20 06/Apr/10

Shoudln't be any toll for it anyway already paid for it why twice?

Has anyone really been far as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

WTF^ ?

what going f*** on this in thread

why don't they learn from others mistakes and not set ridiculous toll charges from the get go
c***s put the gateway tolls up to try and force people through the new tunnel, all it seems to have done is increased congestion through the city

they put the tolls up to make it look like a nice investment for buyers.

Has anyone really been far as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

Grammer gone what my mothers bike?

Shoudln't be any toll for it anyway already paid for it why twice?

I've never seen any stats on Public to Private funding for the Tunnel. Is it something they havent released or is my Google-Fu weak?
I was under the impression that the lions share of the cost for the road was footed by the RiverCity group. They would also be incharge of maint costs if i'm not mistaken.

rubba-chikin;

RiverCity Motorway has left the door open to continuing the discounts beyond May 10, when it was expected to begin charging the full tolls: $4.28 for cars, $2.14 for motorbikes, $6.42 for light commercial vehicles and $11.33 for heavy commercial vehicles.

People like to get things for free.
If you do 9 trips make the 10th free.

I was reading somewhere that Australia has the highest tolls per Km in the world.

http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2010/04/14/1225853/785747-story-bridge-traffic.jpg

lol, awesome tunnel guys!

Old mans shares have been going to s*** since the day it opened.

Went to uber s*** when they stopped the free tolling and the numbers dropped to a level where they're actually losing money.

Went to uber s*** when they stopped the free tolling and the numbers dropped to a level where they're actually losing money.

Wasnt this pretty much expected though?

$4.50 is just too much for a toll that they expect people to pay for a daily commute. Thats like $45 a week if people use it every day to and from work, thats over $2000 a year. Alot more than people would pay for insurance, more than the cost of fuel, more than rego.

I think about $2.50 is the highst people would deal with.

I reckon that new bridge they are building from west end over to the ICB is going to fail even more, its a toll to cross a bridge and I thinks its going to be over $3.

Went to uber s*** when they stopped the free tolling and the numbers dropped to a level where they're actually losing money.

Gee, who could of predicted that?
Oh, wait. Everyone.

I think they're screwed, lowering the price of the toll might increase the amount of people but ultimately they needed the same amount of people going through when it was free (assuming new + free = max amount that will ever go through in the near future) but paying the $4.30 to turn the profit they wanted.

paying the $4.30 to turn the profit they wanted.

Thats the whole problem with this kinda thing, people shouldnt be making money from the roads we drive on.

Im not sure if its possible but the government should have funded it all and run the tolling. Then it should be run with the minimum toll to pay it off in 30-50 years.

I reckon $2.50 is also max it should be. You'd probably save a litre of fuel avoiding all the stop start traffic so it really isn't too bad then. I wouldn't think twice to use it at $2.50.

I couldn't believe that new Go Between Bridge is going to be tolled, that's just dumb.

Trying to fix traffic problems by charging commuters stupid tolls ain't going to work.

meh within a few weeks people will start to realise that a loss of $4.50 is better than sitting in traffic for 30mins.

didnt people whinge and bitch about the gateway? now look at how many people use it.

didnt people whinge and bitch about the gateway? now look at how many people use it.

Ya well it's going up to $3.85 in july so you can expect less people to use it. They paid that thing off years ago yet the prices are still going up.

yeah lol that gateway bridge is going up by like $1 in price over the next year

forget that, that's insanely blatant revenue raising. more blatant than speed cameras

Im not sure if its possible but the government should have funded it all and run the tolling. Then it should be run with the minimum toll to pay it off in 30-50 years.

The council built it though (along with some private company), I don't think they'd have the money to build it outright.

I hope the tolls fail so maybe they'll re-evaluate tolling everything / letting private companies do it. The Hale St Bridge one is the biggest joke, I hope it never gets used.

if it pisses you off just do what I do, don't use it

The Hale St Bridge one is the biggest joke, I hope it never gets used

ill use it when the riverside is f***ed.

Ya well it's going up to $3.85 in july so you can expect less people to use it. They paid that thing off years ago yet the prices are still going up.

they put the price up because they want to sell it.

And how does that relate to my point of saying that less people will use it because of the price hike?

Man that strawman is strong with that one.

i was explaining why they put the prices up ya mong.

anyway i dont think the price increase is going to have too much of an affect on traffic. the other options people have to get over that way are even worse than the gateway imo.

I'm not really interested in why they put the price up. They can try and justify it until they turn blue and purple. It's the motorists that always get the raw deal at the end. I for one won't be using it when the price goes up, only if a really have to.

anyway i dont think the price increase is going to have too much of an affect effect on traffic

Fixed FYI.