Gold Coast Coomera Connector: How Helensvale and Parkwood would be transformed

New video and pictures reveal how the $2.4 billion Coomera Connector will transform Helensvale, Parkwood and other northern Gold Coast suburbs.

THE $2.4 billion Coomera Connector is one step closer as the Federal Government starts a critical environmental study for the arterial road’s first stage.

The study, which is a key plank of the business case for the alternative motorway to the M1, will look at the stretch of road between Coomera and Nerang and will involve a further round of community consultation.

Artist impression of Coomera Connector at Helensvale. Picture: TMR

MORE NEWS

‘Flying blind’: State’s stunning admission over cost of border closure

Revealed: Real reason border is staying shut

‘Creepy’ note that led to man losing an eye

Once the study is completed, the project’s status will be escalated to allow for federal and state funding to begin construction.

“The resounding message from many people was ‘get on with it’ and that’s what we are doing,” Fadden MP Stuart Robert said.

“Developing the business case is the next step required to put forward the case for the Coomera Connector to be a national infrastructure priority.”

Early stage works on the project have begun, with State Government workers starting on what has been described as “one of the largest traffic mapping projects in the city’s history”.

Gaven MP Meaghan Scanlon said the works would determine how the Coomera Connector would integrate with existing infrastructure, including the M1 and local roads.

“It involved about 700 cameras and five drones covering 42 kilometres of motorway between Loganholme and Nerang, as well as the supporting road network,” she said.

Artist impression of Coomera Connector at Coomera. Picture: TMR

RELATED

How long Coomera Connector will take to build

Coomera Connector: Residents slam delays

Survey: What residents really think about Coomera Connector

The Coomera Connector will be a six-lane, 45km arterial road to run from Nerang to Logan.

It is expected to take up to 60,000 vehicles off the M1 and was fully gazetted by the State Government last year.

More than $20 million is being spent on early works and surveying in preparations for the business case.

It comes as the first results from community consultation conducted in November and December last year reveal strong support for the project.

The independent survey, conducted for the State Government, found locals the Coomera Connector built to relieve pressure on the M1.

Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey. Photographer: Liam Kidston

State Transport Minister Mark Bailey said four out of every five people who answered the independent survey supported the road.

“This was an independent survey of 1000 residents and businesses spread out between Loganholme and Coolangatta,” he said.

The release of the survey results came after northern Gold Coast residents yesterday went public with their concerns about the road and its impact on The Surrounds estate community.

“It has nearly been six months since the Q&A sessions. Plans are well overdue,”a spokesman from The Surrounds Residents Association told the Bulletin.

“Many residents attended at several locations but only verbal discussions were held, the Department of Transport did not document any concerns raised.

“We need a business case to see what viable alternatives to the corridor were explored, other pathways for the corridor, cost, and reasoning for the recommended pathway for the corridor.”

More than 210,000 vehicles use the M1 around the Coomera River on its busiest days, and a significant portion is local traffic accessing the Gold Coast’s northern suburbs.

Forde MP Bert van Manen said residents also provided feedback on potential issues including noise, environmental impacts and property resumptions

Artist impression of Coomera Connector at Parkwood. Picture: TMR

“Further community consultation on environmental aspects of stage one of the Coomera

Connector between Coomera and Nerang are underway and will give residents an opportunity to share their views,” he said.

The road, formerly known as the intra-regional transport corridor (IRTC), has long been part of the State Government’s future plans to reduce congestion but was dumped by the former Newman government in 2013, against the wishes of the Gold Coast City Council.

The project was restored in 2015 and the Palaszczuk Government gazetted the Nerang to Coomera section in March 2016 and the Coomera Stapylton section in May 2017.

It later became a political football at the 2017 state election when the LNP Opposition pledged to build the project.

Federal Urban Infrastructure Minister Alan Tudge said the Coomera Connector would be a critical project for boosting the economy and reducing traffic issues in coming years.

“This project will be critical to supporting growth on the Gold Coast in the years to come and it’s great to see this level of community support for it,” he said.

“It’s crucial we make headway on infrastructure across southeast Queensland as we come out of the COVID pandemic.”