Eagleby anger as new Coomera Connector route to trigger more land resumptions
A state government move to reroute a planned six-lane highway connecting Brisbane and the Gold Coast has been met with angst and criticism from some southside residents.
Logan
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A state government move to reroute a planned six-lane highway connecting Brisbane and the Gold Coast has been met with angst and criticism from local residents.
Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey announced the plans to alter the path of a 29km section of the 45km Coomera Connector at the Logan River on Friday.
The proposed highway has been the focus of a six-year campaign to divert the road away from the environmentally significant Eagleby Wetlands.
Although no exact maps of the newest plans have been released, the latest move was expected to push the road at Eagleby about 80m further east but still require three bridges.
Under the realigned path, the highway will cross the Logan River near the Logan City Council’s waste water treatment plant, which is on Chetwynd St.
Mr Bailey said the changes to where the road would cross the Logan River could improve environmental outcomes and reduce impacts on the land.
It would also cut costs of complex bridges needed for flood mitigation across the Logan and avoid a large dam at the back of the Palm Lake Resort at Eagleby.
“Since 2022, we have been working on the business case and conducting comprehensive environmental studies for the future stages of the corridor, from Loganholme to Coomera,” he said.
“I encourage the community to provide feedback on the concept design for the Coomera Connector (Future stages) project.”
Local resident group Eagleby Wetlands Community Group said the changes were just “lip service” and were expected to result in more land being resumed by the state government.
Eagleby Wetlands Group spokesman Robert Livingstone said the new plan was likely to result in two additional pieces of land being taken.
He said eight properties on Eagleby Rd had already been resumed along with a further two on Schmidt Rd in line with the original plans.
“If they decided to go wider and further east, there will likely be more property seized on Schmidt Rd,” he said.
“This is not good news, despite what the state government is trying to tell us.
“The road is still going to come through our community and it is likely that a further two houses on Schmidt Rd will have to be resumed to follow this latest plan.
“They may have moved the road a little bit further away from the wetlands to save the wildlife there – but it’s not just the wetlands that we are trying to save.
“The cane farmers are going to lose more land because the road will still have to go across the river to meet up with Beenleigh-Redland Bay Rd and Mt Cotton Rd.”
Cane farmer Mick Herse said the new route would not solve any of the problems that residents had discussed with the state government and said he stood to lose more land.
Shocked residents said they had not been told of the new plans, despite years of lobbying the government for a different, cheaper, safer and more environmentally friendly route.
Mr Livingstone said Transport Department officials had invited his group to a meeting at the end of the month to discuss the new route and the changes in plans at Eagleby open for public consultation tomorrow.
State Labor MP for Macalister Melissa McMahon said she was happy with the realignment as it had moved the highway away from residential backyards and the Palm Lakes Resort dam.
She said elevated embankments would also help mitigate flooding issues.
“This will only affect land owners who are already affected – and the department has already spoken to two property owners about more land resumptions,” she said.
“These are properties where the land was already earmarked for resumption and there will not be any additional buildings affected.”
A business case for the Eagleby stage of the project is still in draft form.
Queensland Senator Malcolm Roberts called for the state to reveal all detailed plans for the new alignment as soon as possible “if it is serious” about community consultation.
“This is an embarrassing backflip by Minister Mark Bailey who has always maintained there is nothing wrong with the route until now,” Senator Roberts said.
“The backflip has only come after community pressure following denials from the government about the extent of environmental damage.
“I’ll be waiting for Transport and Main Roads to release the details on their new alignment before we can say if they’ve struck the right balance.”
Sunday October 29: 7am to 12pm
Beenleigh Craft and Farmers Market
38-44 James Street
Tuesday 31 October 10am to 2pm
Cornubia Shopping Centre
225 Bryants Road (corner Beenleigh-Redland Bay Road)
Located outside Woolworths
Friday 3 November 10am to 2pm
Beenleigh Marketplace Shopping Centre
114-118 George Street
Tuesday 7 November 10am to 2pm
Pimpama City Shopping Centre
102 Pimpama-Jacobs Well Road
Thursday 9 November 4pm to 8pm
Beenleigh Marketplace Shopping Centre
114-118 George Street
Tuesday 14 November 10am to 2pm
Eagleby Community Centre
8 Cowper Ave Eagleby
Saturday 18 November 9am to 5pm
Westfield Coomera Shopping Centre
103 Foxwell Road
Outside the Reject Shop
Monday 20 November 1pm to 5pm
Eagleby Community Centre
8 Cowper Ave Eagleby
Located inside centre
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