Test drilling starts on North West Transport Corridor tunnel

Test drilling has begun at the site of a long-awaited $14b-plus tunnel designed to take pressure off one of Brisbane’s most clogged roads.

Test drilling has started along the route of the North West Transport Corridor, a long-promised $14b-plus road and tunnel project designed to take pressure off Gympie Rd in Brisbane’s north.

The State Government allocated money in the recent budget for the project which has for years been a political football kicked back and forth between the government and council.

North Brisbane Infrastructure (NBI), a special unit within the Queensland Investment Corporation, letterboxed northside residents recently about engineering works between Kedron and Carseldine.

The work, due to wrap up later this month, included drilling rigs and also water and vacuum trucks.

It was needed to test earth and groundwater conditions so the best construction methods could be worked out for later stages.

NBI has been tasked with detailed transport modelling, technical assessments and financial analysis, including public and active transport needs such as bicycle lanes.

A Transport and Main Roads spokesman confirmed TMR was continuing to plan for a North Brisbane Tunnel.

“Planning work will progress as part of the Gympie Road Planning Program,’’ he said.

“But realising the benefits of the proposed tunnel relies on effective integration with the broader transport network on the northside of Brisbane.’’

The state government transferred responsibility for planning of the bypass tunnel to TMR earlier this month.

Former Transport Minister Bart Mellish said Labor had allocated about $300m for preliminary works in its 2024 budget.

Another $35m was included in the 2023-24 budget to determine if a toll tunnel from Airport Link at Kedron, emerging at Carseldine, was viable.

Transport chair Andrew Wines (left) and Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner at the North West Corridor. Council has blamed the former state government for delays in building the project. Picture: Liam Kidston

“We are keen to see, northsiders are keen to see, whether this government is still committed to this congestion-busting project which Labor initiated,’’ Mr Mellish said.

The 9km-long North West Transport Corridor, stretching from Gympie Rd in Carseldine to Shand St in Alderley, was set aside in the 1980s.

It has since become a haven for wildlife and valuable urban green space, which council said meant there would be considerable public opposition to a surface road, Metro corridor or rail link.

Council has instead floated two options for a road tunnel — a longer 11.75km tunnel connecting Airport Link at Kedron to Gympie Arterial Rd at Carseldine and a shorter 8.5km version following Gympie Rd.

The tunnel sections alone would have cost an estimated $9.2bn and $7.9bn respectively.

Infrastructure Australia rejected council’s proposals earlier this year because it did not considered, in detail, a cheaper surface route.