Gold Coast Election 2020: Why Southport is in gridlock, road upgrades need rethink

Gold Coast council is being urged to rethink its current plan to solve one of the city’s worst traffic congestion hot spots.

THE council is being urged to rethink its engineering solution for access off Sundale Bridge to The Spit to solve one of the city’s worst traffic congestion hot spots.

If elected, Southport candidate Michael Pulford said he would call for an immediate investigation into both The Spit turn-off along with the Smith Street connection with the Gold Coast Highway.

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Traffic gridlock after an accident on Sundale Bridge. Photograph: Jason O'Brien.

“The Sundale Bridge Waterways Drive Project is planned for this year and this work involves adding an extra lane northbound from Tedder Ave to Ada Bell Way and only upgrading to three lanes southbound from Waterways Drive to Tedder,” Mr Pulford said.

“A third right-turn lane will be added from Waterways Drive into Gold Coast Highway. But we only have one lane southbound turning left into Waterways Drive heading to The Spit and Main Beach servicing the entire northern Gold Coast and Brisbane.

“There should be at least three southbound lanes on GC Highway and two lanes turning left because the bottleneck is always in the left lane.”

Mr Pulford said the one lane turning south into The Spit was the reason for traffic backing up from Sundale Bridge to Smith St.

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Artist impressions of Sundale bridge upgrade on the Gold Coast.

The $15 million transport solution proposed by council engineers was questioned by area councillor Dawn Crichlow and Deputy Mayor Donna Gates.

Councillors wanted the extra lane off the bridge to be southbound and not northbound but officers maintained that was where the congestion was worst at peak hour.

Mr Pulford said the traffic build-up began with the Smith St upgrade years ago, when the major linking road heading east was widened to three lanes up to Beale Street, just before Southport State School, then reduced down to two lanes creating the bottleneck

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Volunteer lifesaver and Southport council candidate Michael Pulford — wants a rethink about traffic solutions.

Mr Pulford said the council should consider options like more one-way traffic, overpasses, bridges, tunnels, added lanes and signalled intersections replacing congested roundabouts.