Flashback: Tunnels once on cards for Gold Coast traffic woes

BEFORE the light rail infrastructure, local politicians were fixated on the idea of installing a tunnel network to get people around.

NEWS BSM ex Gold Coast 30-8-07, Tugun bypass tunnel under extended runway at Coolangatta airport., pic Geoff McLachlan story Paul Weston.

SOLVING the Gold Coast’s traffic issues is something that many a politician has tried to do during the past 25 years.

With the Gold Coast light rail system proving to be a major success in getting people out of their cars and on to public transport, stage two is now on the cards once a funding agreement can be reached between the state and federal governments.

But years before the light rail became a reality, city leaders were focused on building down and creating tunnels.

Back in mid-1990 the Gold Coast City Council, under the leadership of mayor Lex Bell, and the Department of Main Roads set their sights on creating a tunnel under Surfers Paradise to solve the traffic bank-up that was occurring even then.

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Before the light rail, tunnels were proposed to help ease the Coast’s traffic congestion.

The tunnel, according to plans developed by PPK Consultants, would have begun at the northern end of Ferny Ave near Higman St and then gone under the Glitter Strip along the route of The Esplanade to Thornton St.

The PPK report, filed with the council at the time, suggested such a development would be a pricey endeavour.

“The cost range of naturally ventilated options is estimated to be from $111 to $133 million, and for the mechanically ventilated version costs range between $146 and $173 million with annual costs of $1.1 million and $2.3 million, respectively,” the report said.

“The study area is already highly developed for tourism and related purposes and further major developments are proposed. Traffic flows on the Gold Coast Highway are already high peak and can be expected to increase.

“Congestion and delays occur during high demand periods and adversely affect the enjoyment of this tourist area.”

The tunnel, which would have been 12m under The Esplanade, aimed to ‘pedestrianise’ other roads in the suburb and create mall areas.

This particular idea never progressed anywhere and city leaders forgot all about it.

But 14 years later, the idea of tunnels came back with a vengeance, with two separate proposals floating simultaneously.

In 2004, then-rookie Surfers Paradise MP John-Paul Langbroek released a plan called “Vision 2012”, giving locals an idea of what the city could look like within eight years.

The centrepiece of this plan was an east-west tunnel under the canal system, linking Bundall to Surfers Paradise.

The tunnel would have wiped out the need to travel through Chevron Island and freed up the area’s roads which remain choked 11 years later.

“The bottom line is that if Surfers Paradise is the heart of the Gold Coast, then the arteries that feed it need some serious coronary work,” Mr Langbroek said.

“The fact we have feeder roads coming in from the north and south and a lack of roads feeding in from the west is a real worry.

“Let’s have a good look at tunnelling. If Brisbane can do it, so can we.

“Roads like Thomas Drive, at Chevron Island, and Roma, Isle of Capri, need to be improved.

“People are using these roads, roads not meant for high volumes of traffic, as pseudo-connector roads because there is simply no other option.”

In the same year, Brisbane mayor and future premier Campbell Newman was elected on a platform of building cross-city tunnels.

Meanwhile, mayor Ron Clarke also put up a own tunnel proposal.

The “cut and cover” tunnel would have stretched through the heart of Surfers from the Golden Gate to Thornton Tower and cost between $200 and $220 million.

Despite the mayor’s dream, a $60,000 consultant’s report to the council conceded that, while a 4km tunnel under Surfers was technically viable, it would be financially prohibitive.

Cr Clarke’s dream was never realised as the city’s focus returned to light rail and pushed forward with building a tram system.

In recent weeks, the city’s traffic has again sparked calls for alternatives to moving people around, including by ferry.