State and Transurban refuse to rule out toll for Coomera Connector

Motorists are being kept in the dark about whether there will be tolls on a new planned state road at Loganholme linking the Coomera Connector to the Logan Motorway.

A map taken from the Transurban half-yearly report in 2021 showing the corporate giant’s portfolio and ‘potential future road projects’ in orange, including the Coomera Connector.

The state government has refused to rule out a toll on a new state road to be built at Loganholme linking the Coomera Connector to the Logan Motorway.

Privately-owned toll road operator Transurban also refused to answer questions about tolls on planned road at Loganholme saying it was not involved with the Coomera Connector project and referred all questions back to the Transport and Main Roads Department.

The Transport Department failed to reveal if motorists would have to pay to use the section of road, yet to be built, at Loganholme.

Newly instated Transport Minister Buderim MP Brent Mickelberg also refused to comment on the toll road claims.

The claims, this week, were triggered by the demolition of a Logan City Council building on the Pacific Highway at Loganholme which was identified as crucial to the road plans.

Bulldozers moved in this week to knock down a once-popular community venue owned by Logan City Council with the site to be ‘impacted’ by the state government’s Coomera Connector road, which will close to the site. Picture: Judith Kerr

Logan mayor Jon Raven said not all of the site would be used for the Coomera Connector and called on residents to consider what projects the council should allow.

“There remains a lot of interest from investors who want to deliver a major attraction for the region,” Mr Raven said.

“Demolishing the building means that as soon as we know which parts of the site are needed for the Coomera Connector we can start working on what comes next.”

The former Antiques Style building was knocked down after being left vacant since 2008 and falling into rack and ruin, following the Coomera Connector route being made public in 2019.

The demolition site at Loganholme will be very close to where the Coomera Connector road will be built.

After the building at 4150 Pacific Highway was demolished this week, TMR said the site would be “impacted” by future stages of the Coomera Connector, but failed to answer direct questions about where or when toll cameras would be installed.

Eagleby Community and Wetlands Group believed the toll claims and said publicly the group was told by high-level official sources that a fee would be put on the Loganholme section of road, an extension of Transurban’s Logan Motorway toll road.

TMR designs show the Coomera Connector will split into two sections after Eagleby with one section going west to the Logan Motorway toll road and another section going north to join the Pacific Motorway at Loganholme. Picture: TMR

This week’s toll road claim followed a 2021 Transurban half-yearly report in which the northern section of the Coomera Connector was marked as “potential future road project”.

The Transurban Report, published in February 2021, includes a map of the proposal under the heading “Near-term asset enhancement opportunities”.

A month after the map and report were published, the toll road company publicly denied the toll plan, saying it was no longer considering the Coomera Connector northern section as a potential future opportunity.

Forde MP Bert van Manen said he had heard the rumours about a toll road and would ask new Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg about them when he gets his first meeting, yet to be scheduled.

Forde MP Bert van Manen (LP) said he had heard the claims about the toll on the new section of road but was still waiting to meet with the state’s new Transport Minister to confirm.

“I’ve heard the claims but I have no verification of that from anybody,” Mr van Manen said.

“I have reached out to the new minister and his office to meet to discuss a range of road projects across my patch of which the Coomera Connector is but one.

The Eagleby Wetlands will also be impacted by the Coomera Connector road, which residents believe will include a toll.

“Based on historical precedent, if that is the way the project proceeds, the toll would likely be announced when and if there is an agreement struck between the state government and Transurban to build that stretch of road.

“Transurban recently announced, during the state election, an upgrade to the Logan Motorway from Beaudesert Rd to Forestdale which will involve, in part, an increase in tolls for trucks.

“I’m sure the state government and Transurban would be having discussions about that particular project on the Logan Motorway as well.”