Gold Coast and Tweed residents can expect shorter wait times at border checkpoints
Commuters faced with crossing the Queensland border daily can expect shorter wait times, with Gold Coast police confirming new measures are working. Here’s how long you can expect to wait.
Gold Coast
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BORDER checkpoint delays continue to drop during peak traffic times – now down from two hours to 23 minutes at the main border on the M1.
Gold Coast Police Chief Superintendent Mark Wheeler again credited the quicker wait times to a new-look border pass with a large expiry date for windscreens and help from 60 Australian Defence Force personnel at all five southern Gold Coast border checkpoints.
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Supt Wheeler said compliance by cross-border residents was also helping speed up the process.
“Already we’re seeing efficiencies gained in terms of the way we process vehicles and some of those wait times have dropped quite dramatically,” Supt Wheeler said, with wait times slashed at the weekend to 45 minutes.
“This morning (Monday) we saw peak times down to about 23 minutes on the M1.
“While it is still an inconvenience particularly for our daily commuters who are cross-border residents, it’s encouraging to see those wait times and travel times are reducing.”
However, despite traffic congestion easing on the NSW-Queensland border, one business owner says the damage has already been done.
For weeks residents have experienced delays of up to three hours crossing the border after new coronavirus hot spots were declared in Victoria and Sydney.
Selfish Fish N Chips is just metres from the Queensland border at Coolangatta and has felt the impact of gridlocked streets.
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Owner Adrian Wright said he used to take up to 50 phone orders a night but now received about four.
Mr Wright said customers from Coolangatta and Tweed Heads were avoiding the area for fear of getting stuck in a traffic jam.
“Since Thursday the road has been a lot quieter, but now it’s a matter of people gaining their confidence in coming back,” Mr Wright said.
“It’s great they’ve opened up more areas and the traffic is quieter but I don’t know what the future holds, it has really hurt me.”
Originally published as Gold Coast and Tweed residents can expect shorter wait times at border checkpoints