Qld’s worst motorway stretches revealed as post-lockdown traffic continues to build

Traffic has slowed on stretches of South East Queensland motorways despite the increase in working from home, a new report has revealed. See the worst-performing stretches.

A new congestion report has revealed an increase in stretches of South East Queensland roads where traffic has slowed since 2019, despite the increase in working from home.

The report by RACQ on congestion in 2021 also found large differences in speeds on many motorways when comparing peak hour with uncontested traffic.

Drivers on at least 18 sections of motorway across the southeast have experienced slower inbound morning and outbound afternoon commutes and than they did pre-pandemic.

RACQ’s Head of Public Policy Susan Furze said it was difficult to pinpoint why there had been an increase in sections where congestion has worsened.

She said it could be a combination of population growth, roadworks and upgrades, consistent wet weather and fewer trips on public transport during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Work from home changes may have not been enough to offset the additional demand on the road network from people electing not to use public transport as much during 2021,” Ms Furze said.

Commuters frequenting the Centenary Motorway route from the Ipswich Motorway to Dandenong Rd at Sinnamon Park have suffered the worst, with weekday congestion slowing morning inbound to traffic to an average speed of 39.9km/h, 56km/h slower than free-flowing traffic.

Traffic on the 2.74km stretch is moving 10 per cent slower than it did in 2019, but the report highlighted it was one of four inbound sections which could be impacted by roadworks.

Outbound traffic has slowed the most since 2019 on the Pacific Motorway stretch between Logan River Bridge and Main St with an average speed of 68.5km/h.

M1 Traffic Southbound at Helensvale. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

Drivers on this 3.4km stretch are moving 27.5 per cent slower than they were in 2019.

The slowest outbound afternoon traffic was on the Centenary Motorway route from Moggill Rd to Fig Tree Pocket Rd at Kenmore, despite congestion improving by 7.6 per cent since 2019.

The stretch has average weekday speed of only 28.4km/h, which was more than 52km/h slower than free flow traffic.

Drivers on the Ipswich Motorway between the Centenary Motorway and Granard Rd experienced the biggest improvement with the average speed in 2021 increasing 38.4 per cent.

It’s understood upgrades may have played a role.

The report also found public transport trips were significantly impacted by Covid-19 in 2021 as they were in 2020.

Commuter numbers recovered to around 70 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels for most of 2021, before suffering another blow in late 2021 with the emergence of Omicron.

Passengers have raised concerns around health and social distancing and RACQ research showed 15 per cent of those surveyed said they would use public transport less after the pandemic.

Ms Furze said it was crucial that people got back on public transport at pre-pandemic levels to ease congestion.

The state government has continued a freeze on public transport fares and recently announced that bikes and scooters would be allowed on the first and last carriages of train.

“Depending on the outcome of these incentives, if more is required to incentivise people back onto public transport then we would like to see consideration of other short and long term initiatives,” Ms Furze said.

The report called for an acceleration of an upgrade to the last remaining section between Deagon Deviation and the Pine River Bridge which has become a major pinch point.

Ms Furze said RACQ’s report also evidenced the need for upgrades to be prioritised and fast tracked on the Centenary Motorway from Darra to Toowong, the Pacific Motorway from Eight Mile Plains to the Logan Motorway, and the Coomera Connector on the northern Gold Coast.

A spokeswoman from the Department of Transport and Main Roads said there had been significant changes to travel demand and patterns as a result of the pandemic.

“This has seen both a reduction in travel at times due to lockdowns, but also subsequent rebounds and unpredictable demands on the network,” the spokeswoman said.

“While we acknowledge our roadworks sites can impact traffic movements, the long-term benefits will improve congestion and capacity into the future, as well as improving road safety for all users.

“TransLink is committed to providing accessible, efficient, customer-focussed services and we have continued to run services to schedule in SEQ during COVID-19 to support essential workers and others who rely on the network”

She said, in addition to the public transport fare increase, the Queensland Government continued to subsidise public transport travel in the southeast by 80 per cent each year.

The department has also introduced increased cleaning and sanitisation of vehicles, stations and touch points, a Service Capacity Tracker to provide customers with forecasted patronage for their service, additional bus and train services in and out of the CBD on weekdays, hand sanitiser at major stations, scheduling larger vehicles on busier routes in peak periods, and regular updates via digital channels and signage.

“The continued delivery of new and upgraded public transport infrastructure, improved network planning and services, and the rapid population growth in SEQ will further drive the patronage rebound,” the spokeswoman said.

“We are continuing to monitor patronage levels and respond with initiatives as needed to encourage more Queenslanders to use public transport.”

She said more than 24,000 respondents provided feedback in TransLink’s customer satisfaction survey of SEQ public transport in the last financial year, with customer satisfaction rated at 4.24 out of 5.