Locals call for Sunshine Motorway upgrades after Telsa crash death

Locals are begging for answers after a mother was killed on a busy Sunshine Coast road a week before another crash on the same stretch left three people fighting for life, as police reveal the reason why the road is so deadly. SEE OUR DRONE VIEW

Locals are distraught and begging for answers after a mother was killed on a notoriously busy Sunshine Coast road just a week before another horror crash on the same stretch left three people in hospital fighting for life.

On Monday, October 7, a Sunshine Coast mother and doctor was killed when her Tesla collided head-on with a Toyota HiLux travelling on the Sunshine Motorway near Coolum.

The day after her funeral, on Saturday, October 19, multiple people suffered life-threatening injuries in another head-on collision on the same stretch of road.

In both horror crashes, police said the cars were travelling in opposite directions, prompting calls from the community for the Sunshine Motorway to be duplicated.

Just hours after the Saturday crash, Labor promised to fast-track upgrades to the Sunshine Motorway if re-elected by bringing forward $3m for the business case.

The key features of the Sunshine Motorway business case upgrades included duplicating the current lanes and a new interchange at the Yandina-Coolum Rd roundabout to ease congestion and improve safety.

The scene of a crash on the Sunshine Motorway near Coolum on Saturday, October 19.

Officer in Charge at Highway Patrol Sunshine Coast, Acting Senior Sergeant David Nelson, said a long, straight road like the Sunshine Motorway meant people often become distracted, describing drivers’ attitudes on the road as “frustrating”.

“What we are trying to get people to do is concentrate on one thing at a time, concentrate on driving, put the phones away and don’t worry about where you’re going,” senior sergeant Nelson said.

“Because it is so nice and straight people doze off, they are not concentrating.”

A woman who was driving a Tesla, pictured, was killed after her car and a Toyota HiLux crashed in a head-on, on the Sunshine Mwy in Coolum Beach on October 7. Picture: Contributed

Senior sergeant Nelson said while physical barriers between the lanes would prevent head-on collisions, if the road was eventually duplicated, police were also looking at installing speed camera signs.

“We are looking at putting a speed camera sign there, and it is not necessarily to catch people speeding, it is to try and keep them concentrating on the task at hand and think what it is my speed,” senior sergeant Nelson said.

A Transport and Main Roads spokesman said the number of vehicles travelling along the Sunshine Motorway each day was more than 31,000, compared to about 17,000 in 2004.

“Funding for transport infrastructure projects is allocated in yearly reviews of the Queensland Transport and Roads Investment Program (QTRIP),” he said.

“Projects are prioritised across the state to ensure funding is directed to the area of greatest need.

“The Sunshine Motorway duplication is an important future project and TMR has undertaken significant early planning to support its ongoing development.”

Sunshine Motorway, Coolum. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Labor candidate for Ninderry, Jo Justo, said under a re-elected Labor government the business case for the upgrade would begin next year.

Ninderry MP, Dan Purdie, announced earlier this month the LNP would spend $40m on new south-facing ramps at Mt Coolum as the “next step”, if elected.

He also said the LNP, along with the local community, worked hard to secure the original $3m dollars back in 2023 for the business case.

“Which was already meant to be well and truly underway,” Mr Purdie said.

“We were outraged the Labour government had pushed that back and now for the Labor candidate to try and claim credit for it and the business case is a slap in the face for locals who worked hard to get that money.

“This planning was already supposed to be underway by now.

“We have been fighting for this.

“I’m going to make sure Labor isn’t withholding this money and then taking credit for it.”

Originally published as Locals call for Sunshine Motorway upgrades after Telsa crash death