The casino and resort development is now rapidly taking shape, with its numerous towers rising over the Riverside Expressway and the site boasting 12 per cent of all cranes in Brisbane.

Construction of the Neville Bonner pedestrian bridge linking the resort to South Bank is also on track with deck sections set to appear within weeks.

Activity on the site has also stepped up a gear, with night works continuing through until September and around 650 workers now on the project.

Destination Brisbane Consortium Project Director Simon Crooks said the bridge’s first deck section, to be installed on the South Bank end, would be 27 metres long and weigh 40 tonnes.

It would be the first of 11 precast sections being barged up the Brisbane River by manufacturer Fitzgerald Constructions.

The second deck section would be installed above the expressway, forcing the closure of some lanes until work was completed.

Crooks said the temporary lane closures and other traffic diversions caused by construction were needed to keep the development of the building on time.

On the project site itself, the cantilever construction of the project’s podium levels above the expressway, a key arterial road, has meant much of the material going into the building is prefabricated, from plumbing and drainage systems to structural steel and precast concrete.

Builder Multiplex is using a digital Building Information Modelling system to simulate works before they are put in place.

The completed podium levels will be large enough for events catering up to 2000 people.

“We have been planning for this work from the very beginning and it was exciting to see it happening. For the public we know seeing is believing,” Crooks said.

“People are already noticing the changes as they drive along the Riverside Expressway, but this will be even more pronounced in the coming month as the bridge section is lifted into position mid-June.”

Multiplex Project Director Dayne May said the structure was now sitting 43 metres above George Street and would accelerate upwards this year when the tower structures, including the distinctive arc of the Star Grand hotel, started taking shape.

The development, which will feature a casino, four hotels, 2000 residential apartments and the equivalent of 12 football fields of public space, is due to open from late 2022.