In 2001, traffic was sent under Bage Street, and Nundah Village got its main street back.
Before the tunnel, everything heading up Sandgate Road squeezed straight through the middle of Nundah Village. After years of debate, the answer landed in 1997: send traffic under Bage Street.
Making it happen reshaped the suburb. Property resumptions began in 1999, with 11 properties demolished to clear the path.
By late 2001 Nundah had its bypass: six lanes, 285 metres, $53 million. Before opening to vehicles, locals were invited to walk through the tunnel, with certificates handed out to mark the day.
In 2009, after a campaign by Nundah & Districts Historical Society president Denis Cleary, it became the George Bridges Tunnel—in honour of the local who was regarded as the founder of the Nundah business centre.
Twenty-five years on, the bypass does its job so well it's easy to forget it's down there. Which, as it happens, is also the problem with time capsules—see our local time capsule mystery.
With thanks to the Nundah & Districts Historical Society Inc.
