[15] In 1979, a tender was called by the Queensland Main Roads Department for a new bridge crossing of the Brisbane River.

This constraint ruled out the possibility of a conventional cable-stayed bridge due to the height of the pylons that would be required.

Due to cost considerations, an alternative design concept was proposed by Bruce Ramsay (Manager Engineering) of VSL.

This alternative design required a world record main span of 260 m for a free cantilever, concrete box girder bridge.

The box girder is still the largest prestressed concrete, single box in the world, measuring 15 m deep at the pier, with a box width of 12 m and an overall deck width for the six lanes of 22 m.[16] As stated above the bridge owes its distinctive shape to air traffic requirements restricting its height to under 80 metres (260 ft) above sea level (all features of the bridge including light poles) coupled with shipping needs requiring a navigational clearance of 55 metres (180 ft).

[citation needed] The original design did not include a safety fence to prevent suicide attempts and base jumping.

[3] Three-metre high safety fences attached to the top of the concrete traffic barrier were later installed to prevent these incidents occurring.

[10] Leighton Contractors and joint venture partner Abigroup won the contract to upgrade the motorway.

All works south of the river were complete by the end of 2009 after 10 years of constant roadwork and traffic disruption.

[22] In October 2010, then Minister for Main Roads, Craig Wallace, announced that the original course of the Gateway Motorway via Eagle Farm would be renamed to Southern Cross Way, after Sir Charles Kingsford Smith's aircraft, the Southern Cross, which landed at Eagle Farm in 1928, and so as to avoid confusion with the newly opened Gateway Motorway deviation.

However, like the renaming of the bridges themselves, the change to Southern Cross Way was not without controversy, attracting criticism from the then Shadow Minister for Main Roads and Transport, Fiona Simpson.

[8] In 2009 as part of the Q150 celebrations, the Gateway Bridge was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "structure and engineering feat".