The Houghton Highway is a reinforced concrete viaduct, the second bridge to be built across Hays Inlet at Bramble Bay connecting the cities of Redcliffe and Brisbane in Queensland, Australia (the first bridge was the Hornibrook Bridge). The bridge, along with the third bridge, the Ted Smout Memorial Bridge, were the longest bridges in the country until 27 March 2013, when the Macleay River Bridge opened in Kempsey, NSW. Originally built to duplicate the crossing capacity, almost immediately after opening it was converted to a three lane roadway with 'peak flow' lane control as a result of the proposed upgrading of the Hornibrook Bridge being deemed uneconomic. The intended crossing capacity was finally provided with the opening of the Ted Smout Memorial Bridge in 2010. History With rising traffic levels on the two-lane Hornibrook Bridge in the 1970s, the Department of Main Roads investigated the construction of another structure to increase capacity and cope with future demand. Authorisation by the department was given to construct a new bridge in 1977, and the new Houghton Highway opened on 20 December 1979, by the then Premier of Queensland, The Hon Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen. The Houghton Highway is named after The Hon James 'Jim' Houghton, Member for Redcliffe (1960–1979) and speaker (1974–1979). Houghton resigned from parliament on 7 August, four months before the bridge opened. Design The all-concrete Houghton Highway consists of 99 spans atop of some 400 T-beams, supported close to sea level by headstocks connected to five octagonal piles each. Rough ride A notable characteristic of the Houghton Highway until 2010, other than its significant length, was the particularly rough surface and therefore ride quality. Each concrete span has a slight concave curve, so a distinct corrugated ride was felt when driving over the bridge. These ride characteristics were due to the absence of a bitumen overlay prior to 2010, when the bridge was upgraded in conjunction with the construction of the Ted Smout Memorial Bridge. Worst road recognition In February 2004, an RACQ survey recognised the Houghton Highway as the number one "pain in the neck" with Queensland motorists. Some 1200 members responded to the survey, asking them to nominate problem roads and intersections in the state. Respondents identified problems including insufficient capacity, the tidal flow or an accident/breakdown on the bridge causing major congestion, an inappropriate speed limit (), and the lack of consideration given by authorities to another