Brisbane motorists steer clear of Kingsford Smith Drive

Thousands of motorists are abandoning a major Brisbane thoroughfare every day as council ploughs ahead with an expensive roadworks project that’s being branded a “gold-plated waste of money”.

THOUSANDS of motorists have abandoned Kingsford Smith Drive as the council ploughs ahead with its expensive roadworks project on the north Brisbane thoroughfare.

The Courier-Mail can reveal the daily number of motorists using the road has dropped by more than 8.5 per cent — or 5367 vehicles — since construction began on the upgrade in 2016. The council confirmed last week that a significant section of the project would be delayed up to a year.

KINGSFORD SMITH DRIVE WORKS DELAYED

The council opposition has slammed the $650 million project as a “gold-plated” waste of money, warning that the number of daily road users may not pick anytime soon.

Labor’s transport spokesman Jared Cassidy said there had been a long-term trend of motorists abandoning the road.

Drivers are choosing to avoid Kingsford Smith Drive roadworks. Picture: AAP/Richard Walker

He pointed to data that showed there were more than 65,000 daily road users in 2004 — significantly more than the daily average of 57,461 users in the first six months of 2018.

“We have seen over time, a remarkable decline in the demand (for the road) and that’s also a period that has seen enormous growth in people living there,” he said.

“It just shows that the $650 million upgrade was never warranted in the first place.

“A much smaller upgrade would have done the job.”

Cr Cassidy said the Airport Link Tunnel and upgrades to surrounding roads had reduced demand for Kingsford Smith Drive.

The LNP administration has previously claimed that it expects the daily number of motorists using the road to increase to 90,000 by 2030.

BCC infrastructure chairwoman Amanda Cooper said the upgrade would improve travel times by up to 30 per cent.

“Every day, the Kingsford Smith Drive project is future-proofing this key gateway to the city and Council is committed to upgrading this corridor to get residents home quicker and safer,” she said.