Brisbane's $3 billion facelift begins today.
William Street will close for six years from Sunday, January 1, as work begins to completely transform inner-city Brisbane between George and William streets and let the city's new $3 billion casino and resort complex get under way.
Star Entertainment and its venture partners make up the Destination Brisbane Consortium, which won the right in 2015 to build the multibillion entertainment precinct near 1 William Street.
The Executive Building and the State Public Works building in George Street, plus the Neville Bonner building in William Street, will all be demolished in 2017.
Heritage buildings in the precinct – some of them the oldest remaining buildings in Brisbane – will be preserved.
The overall concept is called the Queens Wharf development and pays tribute to the birthplace of the original penal settlement of Brisbane.
This was beside the river on Queens Wharf Road in May 1825, on the Brisbane River side of William Street directly across from South Bank.
The idea to name the development the Queens Wharf Brisbane development was spawned by a series of articles in 2013 on Brisbane's birthplace by Fairfax Media.
Queens Wharf Road, running along the Brisbane River immediately beside the Bicentennial Bikeway will also close.
From Sunday, the section of William Street between Elizabeth and Margaret Streets will close and remain closed while the existing buildings are demolished and the newer structures are built.
Overall the concept includes a new casino and resort, three new hotels, riverside eateries and retail areas, new boardwalks, plus a new cross-river bridge called the Neville Bonner Bridge, honouring the Queenslander who was Australia's first-ever Indigenous parliamentarian.
Project director Simon Crooks said it was an "exciting time" for Brisbane.
"But these changes are needed to enable this very significant infrastructure project to go ahead," Mr Crooks said.
"I'd like to thank Brisbane residents for their patience and understanding about these road changes," he said.
"We'll continue to work with state government, Brisbane City Council, and TransLink to manage impacts to motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians throughout the development."
Footpaths on William Street, one side of Margaret Street, Queens Wharf Road and a section of George Street in front of the Executive Building will also be closed from Sunday.
The Bicenntennial Bikeway along the river near the Queensland University of Technology campus will remain open.
Mr Crooks said it would take about 12 months to pull down the three buildings between George and William streets.
"Probuild will begin the demolition and enabling works in January and we expect this will take most of the year to complete," he said.
"The demolition will be of the three non-heritage former government buildings at 80 George Street, 100 George Street, and the Neville Bonner Building at 75 William Street.
"This will be a slow demolition process. Safety will be the highest priority here because these buildings are surrounded by motorists, pedestrians, cyclists, and numerous heritage buildings."
The heritage buildings on the site – including the Commissariat Store building, old Immigration Building and old State Library in William Street, plus the old Government Printery in George Street and the heritage-listed Harris Terraces, would be preserved.
"All heritage buildings within the site will remain protected and secured, ready to be restored and repurposed as part of the future development under the Queen's Wharf Brisbane Priority Development Area Development Scheme," Mr Crook said.
The work also means major changes to 50 Brisbane bus routes, which will be felt most strongly as people return from Christmas-New Year holidays.