Road Photos & Information: Queensland

Legacy Way, Western Freeway and Centenary Highway (M5 / A5)

Statistics:

Length:
49 km
Termini:
Northern: Inner City Bypass (M3), Kelvin Grove
Southern: Cunningham Highway (A15 / M15) and Ipswich-Boonah Road (SR93), Yamanto
Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along Route:
Kelvin Grove, Paddington, Auchenflower, Toowong, Mt Coot-tha, Indooroopilly, Fig Tree Pocket, Kenmore, Sinnamon Park, Jindalee, Seventeen Mile Rocks, Mt Ommaney, Sumner, Darra, Richlands, Carole Park, Ellen Grove, Springfield Lakes, Springfield, Springfield Central, White Rock, South Ripley and Deebing Heights

Route Numbering:

Current: M5 A5
Former: 5 32
Road Authority Internal Classification: 1
U18A (Centenary Hwy from Jindalee to Ellen Grove)
U18B (Centenary Hwy and Western Fwy from Jindalee to Toowong)
910 (Ellen Grove to Yamanto)

General Information:

Legacy Way: 2

Legacy Way is the Brisbane City Council's 4.6 kilometre road tunnel that connects the Western Freeway at Toowong with the Inner City Bypass (ICB) at Kelvin Grove.

Legacy Way includes two separate parallel road tunnels, each with two lanes of traffic, a speed limit of 80 km/h, a ventilation system to manage air quality, safety systems, including emergency exits, fire protection and monitoring systems and a fully electronic tolling system.

Western Freeway: 3

Western Freeway is Queensland's first ever freeway, and is 5 km long and began life in the late 1960s as a single carriageway (stage 1) between Mt Coot-tha Road and Taringa Parade.

Centenary Highway:

The Centenary Highway is a limited access road in the western suburbs of Brisbane. The M5 section of the route is 13 kilometres in length and starts at the Logan Motorway (M2) interchange at Darra. South of the interchange, the Centenary Highway is numbered A5 through the interchange with the Cunningham Highway (A15 / M15) and Ipswich-Boonah Road (SR93), a distance of 26 km. The Centenary Highway becomes the Western Freeway at Kenmore.

History:

1960s: The Centenary Bridge and Centenary Highway, linking Moggill Road at Indooroopilly to Ipswich Road at Darra, had been built with financial contributions from the developers of the new suburbs from Jindalee south. 4
1969: Western Freeway opens to traffic. 2 This was constructed by Brisbane City Council and acted as a link from Mt Coot-tha Road to Taringa Parade at Indooroopilly. 4
1979: Main Roads completed the controlled access roadway to connect from the section council had built through to the Centenary Bridge, a project involving six grade-separated interchanges. 4
16 December 1998: Progress Road to Logan Motorway opened by Minister for Main Roads Steve Bredhauer. 5
17 May 1999: Sod-turning ceremony for the Logan Motorway to Springfield section performed by David Hamill. 5
28 June 2000: Logan Motorway to Springfield section opened by Premier Peter Beattie. 5
03 July 2000: Logan Motorway to Springfield section opened to traffic. 5
1995: Metroad 5 route number introduced, SR32 decommissioned along the Metroad 5 routing. 6
January 2005: Construction begins on the Springfield interchange.
June 2006: Springfield interchange opens to traffic.
October 2006: Metroad 5 decommissioned on Centenary Highway (between Darra and Kenmore) and Western Freeway, and was replaced by M5. 7
October 2006: Construction begins on the South Deebing to Yamanto section of Centenary Highway. 8
December 2006: Construction begins on the Springfield to Ripley section of Centenary Highway as a single carriageway with 1 lane in each direction. 8
December 2007: Construction begins on the Ripley to South Deebing section of Centenary Highway. 8
July 2008: Work commenced to construct a cycle and pedestrian overpass over the Western Freeway near the Toowong Roundabout linking Mt Coot-tha Road to the Western Freeway Bikeway. 9
2008: Duplication and extension commences of Centenary Highway south of the Ipswich Motorway interchange at Darra. 10
March 2009: Improvement works along Centenary Highway between Jindalee and Indooroopilly, which included installing guardrail, installing reflective road markings, upgrades to signage and placement of mesh fencing. 11
29 May 2009: Upgrades commence on the Sumner Road interchange on the Centenary Highway at Sumner. 12
25 June 2015: Legacy Way opened to traffic. 2
1 QLD Government, Department of Transport and Main Roads, The State Road Network of Queensland map, 30 June 2022.
2 Brisbane City Council, Traffic & Transport, Legacy Way Tunnel.
3 Sam Laybutt (Ozroads).
4 QLD Government, Department of Transport and Main Roads, Queensland Roads, March 2009.
5 Tyler Bullock.
6 Lachlan Sims.
7 Michael Greenslade.
8 QLD Government, Department of Transport and Main Roads, Centenary Highway Extension: Springfield to Yamanto Web Site.
9 QLD Government, Queensland Transport Projects & Initiatives Web Site.
10 QLD Government, Department of Transport and Main Roads, Centenary Hwy Upgrade and Extension Web Site.
11 QLD Government, Department of Transport and Main Roads, Media Release - Jindalee to Indooroopilly Safety Works, March 2009.
12 Brisbane City Council, Traffic Updates Website.
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