Night works start at major Brisbane roundabout after backlash at delays

Giant traffic jams have made this roundabout upgrade one of Brisbane’s most hated roadworks sites. Council begins nightworks this evening, which it says will shave two weeks off lane closures.

Council will begin nightworks at its multimillion-dollar Indooroopilly roundabout upgrade this evening in an effort to shave two weeks off lane closures which have created massive traffic snarls.

A flyer was letterboxed to nearby residents in the inner-west suburb on Wednesday alerting them to the nightworks, starting this evening (June 10) from 8pm to 5am.

“By doing these works on Friday night, sections of Coonan St can be reopened to two lanes, two weeks earlier than scheduled, assisting with traffic movement through the area,’’ the Council notification read.’’

Locals have flooded social media with complaints about monster delays since the lane closures were introduced in April, with some saying it had taken hours to exit nearby Indooroopilly Shopping Centre on particularly busy days.

Traffic crawls along Moggill Rd, Indooroopilly, near the roundabout, earlier this year. Picture: Liam Kidston

Others said they now took long detours to avoid the area.

“Rain and ongoing nationwide contracting shortages impacted the schedule of works on Coonan St,’’ a Council spokeswoman said this afternoon.

“These works are about ensuring there is minimal disruption to the community.

“These short-term nightworks on Coonan St will reduce the congestion and ongoing longer-term lane closures throughout the rest of the project.

“We will continue to keep residents informed and thank the community for their patience.’’

RACQ traffic and safety engineering manager, Gregory Miszkowycz, described the traffic delays as “short-term pain for long-term gain”.

“Unfortunately, lane closures are required both day and night to deliver this component of the project, however this will ultimately minimise the disruption to traffic as it shortens the time needed to complete the overall project,” Mr Miszkowycz said.

“Our advice to motorists is to seek out alternative routes if they can, take trips outside of peak times, and give themselves extra time to complete their journey while the roadworks are occurring.”

The BCC notice to residents.

Council said there would be several lane changes at the site throughout the duration of the upgrade, which was on track to be completed in early 2024.

At the time the lanes were closed, it had been expected they would not be reopene for about three months, weather permitting.

Local state Greens MP, Michael Berkman, posted on Facebook that it was “obvious’’ the nightworks were not necessary for safety reasons.

“BCC has clearly told their private contractors (Georgiou Group), who are responsible for building the project, to hurry up and get Coonan St back to two lanes northbound,’’ Mr Berkman said.

“The private contractors would have submitted detailed work schedules to Council months ago which, according to this notice, showed the work finishing in two weeks without night works.

“Now, either because Council either didn’t understand, or because some LNP Councillors got spooked by the traffic, Coonan St residents will need to deal with an all-night racket that should have been avoided.

Artist's impression of how the roundabout will look.

“All of this would be easier to stomach if the Indro roundabout ‘upgrade’ was going to provide bus lanes for the 444 or safe cycling lanes, as the Greens have been pushing for. “Instead, it will create more space for more traffic, further entrenching car-dependency in the western suburbs.’’

In August last year it was announced that the cost of upgrading the roundabout and some surrounding works had ballooned $56 million to $182 million. The current cost forecast is not known.

At the time the Federal Government/Council joint-funded project was announced, it was estimated it would save motorists 43 seconds travelling inbound on Moggill Rd.

Outbound Moggill Rd commuters would save 26 seconds in the afternoon peak.

Independent Councillor Nicole Johnston, whose Tennyson ward includes many residents who travel over the Walter Taylor Bridge and Coonan St to the roundabout, has expressed fears commuters on that route would be disadvantaged compared with Moggill Rd users.

But Council has also said the upgrade would address safety, pointing out there were 32 crashes recorded between 2013 and 2018 alone, resulting in 10 hospitalisations and 17 injuries.

About 55,000 cars a day use the roundabout, making it one of the busiest in Brisbane.