A car travelling on Brisbane's North Quay, near the Riverside expressway, has caught fire causing major delays in the city's CBD.

Video showed the moments after the car caught fire beneath the Kurilpa Bridge shortly after 1:00pm today.

Plumes of black smoke could be seen billowing from the vehicle and was visible to office workers across the river at South Bank.

At one stage a fireball erupted from the bonnet as bystanders distanced themselves due to the risk of explosions.

Police arrived on the scene and diverted traffic around the area.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 58 seconds 58 s Traffic chaos ensued as firefighters had to shut down the Expressway.

A Queensland police spokesperson said the fire happened following an earlier car crash.

The driver of the vehicle escaped injury.

A carton of beer was also visible near the rear of the car.

Some office workers in the city were also seen standing on their balconies, alerted by the smoke and commotion nearby.

Despite the obvious risk, pedestrians continued to walk — or in some cases run — across the Kurilpa Bridge, which connects North Quay to the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA).