Kedron to Carseldine tunnel would slash 30 minutes off peak-hour commute

Analysis by The Courier-Mail reveals how a proposed tunnel could see Brisbane motorists save up to 30 minutes in peak hour travel time.

A new multi-billion dollar northside tunnel linking Kedron to Carseldine could slash travel time by 30 minutes in peak hour and end the frustration of motorists gridlocked on Gympie Road.

The seven kilometre Gympie Road Bypass Tunnel from Kedron to Carseldine would join the existing Airport Link, giving motorists a seamless journey from the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital at Bowen Hills to a few hundred metres from the start of the Bruce Highway.

Analysis by The Courier-Mail for the Future Brisbane campaign reveals motorists could save up to 30 minutes in travel time during the afternoon peak hour rush.

The drive from the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital to the Gympie Arterial Rd at 5pm on a Monday evening takes about 40 minutes in heavy traffic, but combining the existing Airport Link with a new northside tunnel with an 80km/h speed limit could see the 13km route completed in just over 10 minutes.

Traffic on Gympie Road in Kedron.

The tunnel would allow motorists to avoid the notoriously busy Hamilton Rd and Gympie Rd intersection at the Westfield Chermside Shopping Centre.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner is advocating the tunnel project, which he labelled “critically important to getting motorists moving”.

As part of the council’s North West Transport Network a $14bn bus rapid transit on Gympie Rd and underground rail is proposed - with the motorway tunnel forecast to cost $8bn.

Queensland Investment Corporation, through its company Northern Brisbane Infrastructure, is considering the feasibility of building a tunnel, which is forecast to be used by between 59,900 and 102,600 vehicles per day by 2041.

Former Queensland Premier Campbell Newman announcing the branding for the Legacy Way Tunnel. Picture: Claudia Baxter

RACQ Advocacy general manager Joshua Cooney welcomed the tunnel proposal and said thought should be given to adding a public transport component “so it’s not just another toll road”.

“If we don’t get this right, we’re concerned it may only lead to more congestion at the tunnel portals and surrounding road network,” he said.

“We would like to see traffic modelling and an economic analysis released for better scrutiny and transparency regarding the assumptions, especially expected traffic flow into and around the city centre.

“Southeast Queensland is one of the fastest growing regions in Australia and heavy investment in public transport will be key to improve and protect the region’s liveability.”

Then Lord Mayor Campbell Newman with a piece of broken wall as the tunnel boring machine breaks through in the Clem Jones tunnel.

Campbell Newman, who delivered the Clem 7 and Legacy Way tunnels after becoming Brisbane Lord Mayor in 2004, has thrown his support behind the northside project.

“We’ve definitely got to look at it because the northside does need that sort of connectivity,” he said.

“You can’t stop building the infrastructure a growing city needs – we are the growth city of the east coast, we are a global city now and we need to keep building.”

Mr Newman’s success in City Hall created the famous “can do” moniker and helped elevate him to the Premier’s office in 2012.

Now out of public office, he remains an “enthusiastic supporter” of major congestion-busting infrastructure such as the Gympie Rd bypass tunnel.

He said it was critical Brisbane’s leaders put politics aside to work together on significant projects, as the state government did while he was building tunnels as Lord Mayor.

“Peter Beattie, Terry Mackenroth and Paul Lucas were magnificent … it wouldn’t have happened without them,” he said.