Story Bridge to close in the new year The Story Bridge will be closed to traffic in January. The Story Bridge will close for the first time in 20 years in January. Resurfacing works and the installation of reflective markers along the centre line of the 73-year-old structure will close it between January 3 and 6. Brisbane City Council will provide free travel on the Clem7 tunnel and Go Between Bridge on those dates in an effort to compensate motorists. The bridge carries an average of 97,000 motorists each day. Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said, along with the resurfacing works, a number of measures would be taken to improve safety. "The new road safety measures will include repainting the double centre lines and placing reflective cat's eyes in the middle of the double lines," Cr Quirk said. The cat's eyes, which will provide improved visibility at night, make a noise when they are crossed which alerts drivers who may become distracted or potentially drifting to sleep that they are crossing a traffic lane. The improved safety measures come after an early morning head-on crash in April claimed the life of a 70-year-old Morningside taxi driver. The crash, which occurred about 4.45am on a Friday morning, also critically injured the male passenger in the taxi and the female driver of the other car, as well as her male passenger. Both the woman and the taxi driver were trapped in the mangled wreckage of their respective vehicles for more than an hour as firefighters worked to cut them free. The crash caused major traffic congestion in the city after all but one outbound lane of the bridge was closed. Two months later, four people were injured following a four-car pile-up on the bridge. Commuter chaos once again ensued following that crash, with the bridge closed for hours as emergency crews cleared the scene. Cr Quirk said that by completing the works over a weekend of the traditionally quiet Christmas period, disruption to motorists would be minimised. "It is hoped that by completing these works at the same time as the resurfacing works in January, we minimise disruptions to motorists as the holiday period traditionally has lower traffic volumes compared to other months," he said.