Houghton Highway

Houghton Highway
Houghton Highway at sunset
Coordinates	27°16′43″S 153°04′03″E / 27.27871°S 153.067623°E / -27.27871; 153.067623Coordinates: 27°16′43″S 153°04′03″E / 27.27871°S 153.067623°E / -27.27871; 153.067623
Carries	Motor vehicles, 3 lanes
Crosses	Bramble Bay
Locale	Redcliffe (Clontarf) north end, Brisbane (Brighton) south end, Queensland, Australia
Official name	Houghton Highway
Maintained by	Department of Main Roads
Characteristics
Design	Reinforced concrete viaduct
Total length	2,740 m (8,990 ft)
Width	11.1 m (36 ft)
History
Opened	20 December 1979 (1979-12-20)

The Houghton Highway is a 2.74 km (1.70 mi) reinforced concrete viaduct, the second bridge to be built across Bramble Bay connecting the cities of Redcliffe and Brisbane in Queensland, Australia (the first bridge was the Hornibrook Bridge). The bridge, along with the third bridge, the Ted Smout Memorial Bridge, were the longest bridges in the country until 27 March 2013, when the Macleay River Bridge opened in Kempsey, NSW.

Originally built to duplicate the crossing capacity, almost immediately after opening it was converted to a three lane roadway with 'peak flow' lane control as a result of the proposed upgrading of the Hornibrook Bridge being deemed uneconomic. The intended crossing capacity was finally provided with the opening of the Ted Smout Memorial Bridge in 2010.

With rising traffic levels on the two-lane Hornibrook Bridge in the 1970s, the Department of Main Roads investigated the construction of another structure to increase capacity and cope with future demand. Authorisation by the department was given to construct a new bridge in 1977, and the new Houghton Highway opened on 20 December 1979, by the then Premier of Queensland, The Hon Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen.

The Houghton Highway is named after The Hon James 'Jim' Houghton, Member for Redcliffe (1960–1979) and speaker (1974–1979). Houghton resigned from parliament on 7 August, four months before the bridge opened.