bridge crossing. Original layout and intention The original intention of the Houghton Highway was to provide two lanes of southbound traffic, with the Hornibrook Bridge to be refurbished to provide two lanes of northbound traffic, doubling original capacity. When the Houghton Highway opened, it initially provided one lane in each direction, intended to temporarily replace the Hornibrook Bridge while its proposed refurbishment was conducted. The initial deck layout (from west to east) consisted of two lanes, an shoulder or "breakdown lane", and a footway. With just a diminutive reinforced concrete kerb to separate pedestrians from passing traffic, the use of the footway was minimal. The bridge had a southbound breakdown lane, on the basis that the two-way traffic flow was only meant to be temporary. With the Hornibrook Bridge closed for refurbishment, engineers were able to make a closer examination to determine more clearly the extent of work required. They found that deterioration of the bridge was worse than first expected, and the cost to bring the bridge up to an acceptable standard, and its continued maintenance, would be far greater than original predictions. At the same time, the state government believed that Redcliffe's future growth would be in its western areas, and therefore the connections of Redcliffe to the Bruce Highway should receive more attention – the original land-based and much longer route to Brisbane before the Hornibrook Bridge opened in 1935. Increasing capacity with just one bridge With the proposed refurbishment of the Hornibrook Bridge cancelled, in October 1982 the Department of Main Roads investigated modification of the Houghton Highway, only ten months after it opened. Facing an unintended situation where the new bridge as built would not deliver any increased capacity, the modification of the bridge was completed within twelve months. The modifications involved the removal of the pedestrian footway, addition of a third lane and a tidal flow arrangement to provide two lanes for peak traffic flow – southbound in the morning and northbound in the afternoon and evening (reversed on weekends). As breakdown lanes could not be provided, emergency telephones and overhead lighting were also fitted to the bridge at the same time. The Houghton Highway did not originally include overhead lighting, whereas the old bridge did. Modifications to the bridge commenced in March 1982, and were completed by 3 September the same year, at a total cost of $435,000. The upgrade included six gantries,