A man has been arrested after strapping himself to Brisbane's Story Bridge in a protest against the family law courts.

The 31-year-old forklift mechanic says he has spent $80,000 in an unsuccessful bid to gain visitation to his children.

The man's protest disrupted traffic in Brisbane's CBD with a pedestrian walkway and lanes closed to traffic.

The man was in a harness and had climbed to the apex of the bridge draping a banner across it that read "Equal rights - not in the family law court" along the bridge.

Satisfied he had gained media coverage of his protest, the man co-operated with police and was removed allowing normal traffic flows to resume.