Revealed: Why the Coomera Connector is the only solution to ending gridlock between the Gold Coast and Brisbane

Residents closest to the Coomera Connector route are asking, why not upgrade the Pacific Motorway? Here’s how the government have responded.

• Gold Coast suburbs which owe the most rates
• When the Gold Coast will reach one million people

MORE than $1.5 billion will be spent on building the first stage of the Coomera Connector. Residents closest to the route are opposed to the second M1. They are asking, why not upgrade the Pacific Motorway?

Transport bureaucrats have never really answered this question except to say all alternatives were explored and an M1 upgrade, even combined with a heavy rail boost, would not be enough to stop gridlock from the Gold Coast to Brisbane.

Traffic congestion near Coomera on the Pacific Motorway. Picture: Nigel Hallett.

Work on the ground has only just started at the new Merrimac, Helensvale North and Pimpama stations. They will open in 2024 as part of the Cross River Rail upgrade.

A report on community consultation on the Coomera Connector confirms some residents prefer a public transport upgrade to a six-lane motorway east of the M1 stretching from Nerang to Stapylton.

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“We should be looking at transport options beyond fossil fuel-burning vehicles — fast public transport,” a resident told consultants. “The noise for those affected will be horrendous.”

Another resident said: “Widening of the M1 would be a better solution.”

Some offered other solutions. “Why not build a double-decker over the existing M1? Wouldn’t that be a cheaper option, quicker to implement and finalise without the need for additional land?”

Exit 49 congestion — photographs taken by Coomera MP Michael Crandon on off ramps.

The big concerns for property owners along the route as revealed in a Bulletin report this week are noise, the impact on wildlife and inconvenience during the build.

In its response to property owners, Transport and Main Roads confirmed options such as expanding public transport, including light rail, had been considered.

The report reveals that to meet the future population growth in Logan and the northern Coast, upgrading the M1 between Loganholme and Nerang would require an additional six lanes to be added.

“Three each way,” TMR says in its response to resident questions.

“This would mean that all the M1 interchanges between Exits 30 and 73 would need to be reconstructed requiring significant property acquisitions, cost and construction impacts to motorists.”

Artist impression of the Coomera Connector (Second M1) on the Gold Coast.

What is the reality? For decades governments have struggled to fund basic upgrades of congested exits from Oxenford through to Yatala.

Considering all the data available, all the feedback from residents, concerns about costs and property acquisitions, there was only one political solution.

COOMERA CONNECTOR ‘TO DOUBLE TRAFFIC’ ON KEY SUBURBAN ROAD

At least 98 per cent of residents and businesses think traffic congestion will worsen. About 80 per cent of people are supportive of the new motorway.

The busiest section of the M1 is between Exits 60 and 62, used by more than 210,000 vehicles on a busy day. The Coomera Connector can remove about 60,000 cars from this section.

Residents told consultants “we need to do something now” and you “should have started already”.

Work starts on planning for the Coomera Connector.

But they will need to be as patient as those driving in peak-hour traffic now on the M1. This will be a slow build.

In one last message, residents gave the government advice about funding models. If the Coomera Connector had a toll attached, they would “not use it at all or often” and keep on the M1.

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