Coomera Connector: How giant highway will change Helensvale, Coomera, Nerang
The $2.1bn Coomera Connector was pitched as a giant six-lane highway which will take 60,000 cars off the M1 each day. But there’s been a huge change. SEE WHAT’S CHANGED>>>>>>
Future Gold Coast
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THE state government cannot say how much of the 45km Coomera Connector will be squeezed into four lanes because the business case is yet to be signed off.
On Tuesday, the Bulletin revealed work on Stage 1 of the second M1 would start in mid-2022. The $2.1bn phase one will run between Nerang-Broadbeach Road and Shipper Drive at Coomera. The arterial road will eventually run to Logan.
Labor had originally promised to build a six-lane “second M1” compared to the LNP’s four-lane proposal.
However, the Bulletin reported in May that some sections would be four lanes – the same width as the Gold Coast Highway – with a view to widening to six lanes at a later date.
The state government is unable to say how much, or which sections of the road will be slimmed down, with the business case for the project still yet to be ticked off by Canberra.
“The corridor is wide enough for an ultimate six-lane motorway,” a Department of Transport and Main Roads statement read on Tuesday.
“However, based on transport demand modelling and available construction funding, fewer lanes may be built in some sections to meet medium-term needs.”
The state opposition said Labor’s renege was a “broken promise” on top of “unacceptable delays”.
Bonney MP Sam O’Connor said drivers “shouldn’t have to jump on a national highway to drive between the suburbs of the Gold Coast”.
“We needed an alternative road to the M1 years ago and every day Gold Coasters are suffering sitting in traffic,” he said.
“We have no idea when we’ll be driving on the full Stage 1 but this all confirms it won’t be for at least a few years.”
Negotiations remain ongoing between the federal and state governments over who will pay for a $600m cost blowout. It was revealed by the Bulletin in September and blamed on increased costs linked to the construction boom which has spun out of the pandemic.
Shortages of building materials were blamed for the blowout by state government.
The state has committed to putting up an extra $316m, or half of the increase, and has called on the Morrison government to match it.
The state government last week told the Bulletin’s Future Gold Coast series the entire project, the largest of its kind completed on the Gold Coast since the late 1990s, would be completed by the 2032 Olympic Games, contingent on a new funding deal with the federal government for future stages.
Date set: Massive leap forward for $2.1b Coomera Connector
CONSTRUCTION of the $2.1B first stage of the Coomera Connector will now begin almost a year later than anticipated as talks drag on to resolve a $600m-plus cost blowout.
Despite state and federal government not knowing where the shortfall will come from, they have vowed to break ground in mid-2022 on the much-anticipated first stage of the 45km arterial road. It will ultimately run from Nerang to Logan.
Construction of the congestion buster had been expected to begin in mid-2021.
The governments will announce on Tuesday they have signed off on the first contract for the project, awarded to Acciona Construction Australia and Georgiou Group Joint Venture to design the Coomera to Helensvale stage of the road.
State Transport Minister Mark Bailey told the Bulletin the road’s business case had been approved and locals would finally see building works.
“The early works agreement for Stage 1 north means site compounds can be established and subcontractors secured in readiness for construction to start in mid-2022,” he said. “This ensures the project will be shovel ready as soon as all environmental approvals are in place.
“Consultation can now also ramp up with people immediately next to the Stage 1 north corridor as the design becomes more detailed.”
However, negotiations remain ongoing between the federal and state governments over who will pay for the $600m cost blowout. It was revealed by the Bulletin in September and blamed on increased costs linked to the construction boom which has spun out of the pandemic.
Shortages of building materials were blamed for the blowout by State Government.
The state government has committed to putting up an extra $316m, or half of the shock cost increase, and have called on the Morrison Government to match its commitment.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said delivering the second M1 was “a priority” for her government.
“Thousands of Gold Coasters use the M1 each and every day,” she said.
“Building the second M1 is incredibly important when it comes to easing congestion and getting people home sooner.
Federal Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher said a public environment report (PER) would be developed to address environmental impacts of the project and would be released in early 2022.
“The PER is being prepared for matters of national environmental significance and will soon be reviewed by the Australian Government,” he said.
“The report will list fauna and flora identified in the footprint, ongoing surveys and monitoring activities, and management plans for mitigation measures.”
How Coomera Connector will change your suburb
This is the first look of how the Coomera Connector will go behind a massive residential estate as the state government provides further insight into the Gold Coast’s biggest road project in 25 years.
New designs show the city’s “second M1” will nudge both tram and train as it goes past The Surrounds and enters Helensvale.
Transport Minister Mark Bailey said he was confident the entire 46km stretch of road, between Nerang and Logan, would be completed by 2032 – contingent on a new funding deal with the federal government.
“We are on track with what we have previously announced but going forward, we will need that future connection with the Logan Motorway (by 2032),” he said.
He said it would be “good” for the fast-growing northern Gold Coast and easing the freight corridor on the M1.
“That’s what we want to achieve but while we have no agreement yet with the Commonwealth for future stages, having the second route would be necessary for the population growth and moving staff and volunteers around.”
The six-lane, 45km arterial road will run from Nerang to Logan and is the biggest project for the city since the original construction of the M1 in the late 1990s.
The first stage alone is set to cost at least $2.1bn after a cost blowout was revealed this year.
A business case commissioned by the state government blames increased costs and material shortages spinning out of the pandemic.
The Gold Coast City Council says it will upgrade its roads to connect with the Coomera Connector, but has ruled out paying for expensive intersections.
Councillors have become increasingly concerned about the Helensvale Road exit which has about 5000 to 6000 car movements per day.
The link road will need to be four lanes as it extends east to Hope Island and new intersections created, essentially eating up most of council’s transport budget.
Mayor Tom Tate said: “Ratepayers shouldn’t, and won’t, fund state exit/entry ways to state-federal roads. I’m confident the Minister will leverage funding from the federal government for this vital project.
“So to be clear, council will upgrade-build local roads that feed into the major state entry-exit points and we will co-ordinate this work so the delays from roadworks only occur once. “Motorists get upset when they see one road project completed only for another one to start right beside it a few weeks later. A seamless approach is the only approach.”
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