Society, guaranteed by the Queensland Government. Work recommenced at a faster pace from July 1934. The portals were designed by architect John Beebe. Originally a Bendigo-based architect, Beebe moved to Queensland in 1916, and worked at the Queensland Works Department until 1926. He then moved into private practice in Brisbane until 1936. Over 2.5 million superfeet of timber was needed to provide girders and decking on the bridge. Two sawmills were bought specially to process timber from Mount Mee and Conondale Range. 250 timbergetters were employed to cut the required amount of timber. Timber for the construction of the bridge was transported down the North Pine and Pine rivers on barges. The hardwood used in piles and girders mostly came from a timber mill owned by the Hornibrook Construction Company at Mapleton, transported from there to Nambour on the Mapleton Tramway, and then by Queensland Rail trains. Concrete was supplied from the QCL works at Darra - the two portals being the first significant structures in Queensland to use material from this source. The last plank on the viaduct was spiked into place on 7 September 1935. The bitumen road surface was laid in under three weeks setting an Australian record. The bridge originally had two traffic lanes and a pedestrian footpath. The construction of the bridge was similar to other bridges in Queensland, but when it was completed it was the longest road viaduct built over water in the Southern Hemisphere. At the time of completion, the bridge had a length of . It was the longest bridge in the Southern Hemisphere, and the second longest in the world after the Maestri Bridge in the United States. Up until its closure to road traffic in 1979, it was the longest vehicular traffic bridge in Australia. The viaduct was opened to road traffic on 4 October 1935, foreshortening the road journey by several hours. Also a special coordinated road/rail bus service was inaugurated by the company to convey commuters between Sandgate and Redcliffe. It was officially opened by then Queensland Premier Arthur Edward Moore on 4 October 1935. It was named after Sir Manuel Hornibrook, the chief engineer of the project. The Hornibrook Highway played an important strategic role during the defence of Australia in World War Two. Military road convoys were able to use the highway to move war material efficiently to points in Queensland. The Hornibrook Highway franchise