Its construction has been marked by complaints over noise and dust from northern suburbs residents, while questions remain over whether the tunnel can hit its traffic targets. A map of the airport link tunnel. Full map here Airport Link will be free for the first month, with an additional two months free for e-toll tag-holders. Tolls will then be ramped up from October. This morning, Clem7's operators announced that tunnel would also be free for this weekend, so that drivers might experience the two tunnels together. Airport Link joins with Clem7 at Bowen Hills, allowing drivers to go from Kedron or Toombul to Woolloongabba, south of the river. It's built, will they come?

Airport Link operator BrisConnections is confident the project will not meet the same fate as the Clem7, Brisbane's first road tunnel, which has struggled to get anywhere near its traffic forecasts.

BrisConnections chief executive Dr Ray Wilson has resolutely stood by projections, saying 165,000 vehicles were expected on the toll road each day by the time the full toll is in place in 15 months' time. However, Toowong-based traffic modellers Veitch Lister Consulting last week estimated while tunnel traffic would quickly rise to 120,000 vehicles per day by October, it would slide to half that number by the time the full toll of $4.90 is in place. However, this morning Cr Quirk said the immediate traffic impact was not the primary focus when building a long-term piece of infrastructure. He likened the tunnel to the city's Story Bridge, saying at the time people questioned the need for such a massive structure in a city with “only a few cars and a few horses." "The reality is that piece of infrastructure today is absolutely enormous in terms of its value to the city – we wouldn’t function without it," Cr Quirk said, from a vantage point at the Brisbane Metropolitan Traffic Management Centre.

"It’s all about planning for the future." Rush to be first

Last night, a convoy of motorists started queuing from 8pm to be among the first through Airport Link when it opened at 11.55pm, marking the end of nearly four years of construction. Sean Anderson, 22, waited several hours at the Bowen Hills entrance last night to be the first driver through the new tunnel. "I'm going to be the first one through, going all the way from Bowen Hills through to Toombul," he told 612 ABC Brisbane as he waited. ABC reported Mr Anderson was also the first driver through the Clem7 tunnel in 2010, however brisbanetimes.com.au reported at the time that honour belonged to Dennis Markwell.

Once given the green light at the entrance to the tunnel, Mr Anderson was shepherded through the toll road by a police patrol car. The personal trainer from Warner said he had looked forward to hearing his Holden ute's exhaust inside the 6.7 kilometre tunnel.



"I'm just happy I'm going to be the first one through all the way to the airport," he said. Traffic has continued to flow through the tunnel this morning without a glitch. Although motorists with an e-toll tag will hear their tag beep when they enter the tunnel today, the tunnel is free for all drivers for the first month and free for those with an e-toll tag for another two months thereafter. Airport Link will have six fixed speed cameras in 10 possible locations.

Dogged during the four-year construction period by negative reports of noise, dust and inconvenience suffered by nearby residents, Cr Quirk said Airport Link would forever be a bugbear for some. "Some people will be inconvenienced in the long-term,” he said. “That’s accepted and that’s a part, regrettably, of any major metropolis or city where change is a factor. "But I think the overall public good for this project is going to be enormous." A plus would include bumps in valuations of those properties most affected by the tunnel’s construction, Cr Quirk predicted. Loading

"That has been a fact of history,” he said. “Every time you have a large infrastructure project there are improvements in valuations that do occur." As a road the provided motorists with a “menu” of travel options, the lord mayor encouraged drivers to take advantage of the no-toll period to familiarise themselves with the offering. How to use Airport Link