‘The data would say to me now that the M1 has reached capacity’
Shock new data shows the M1 is bursting at the seams. But the figures also contain a major surprise which a local representative says “doesn’t make sense”.
Gold Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Gold Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THE Pacific Motorway is officially bursting at the seams, having reached its capacity set out almost two decades ago.
Fresh Government data shows 160,135 cars used a hotspot section of the M1 in the city’s north last year. Given the projected 3000-4000 car annual increase, that figure is now expected to exceed the 162,000 vehicle per day capacity of Queensland’s busiest road.
Theodore MP Mark Boothman asked Transport Minister Mark Bailey for answers on the initial design capacity of the M1, the average number of vehicles using it since it was opened, and the average journey times between Smith Street and the Logan River bridge.
Mr Bailey responded by saying the initial design capacity for the section between Yatala and Oxenford allowed for a maximum hourly capacity of 2300 cars per hour, per lane, which accounted for 162,000 vehicles during a 24-hour period.
Average daily traffic was 96,697 in 2003 and dropped to 87,225 in 2007 before climbing by between 3000 to 4000 cars annually.
The latest figures show 160,135 cars used the section in 2018, and based on annual average increase in recent years the total for 2019 would now be well above 162,000.
Mr Boothman told the Bulletin: “They are saying that 162,000 vehicles is the capacity. That would say to me now that the road has reached capacity. Obviously if you have more cars on the road, the chances of having accidents will increase as well.”
GET FULL DIGITAL ACCESS: $5 PER MONTH FOR THE FIRST 3 MONTHS
The data obtained by Mr Boothman provides a surprise by showing the travel times between Smith Street and Logan River Bridge have dropped slightly in 2018 compared to 2017.
At the morning peak, the northbound lane times had reduced to just under 20 minutes, a decrease of 35 seconds, and the southbound was just more than 23 minutes, a drop of about nine minutes.
“I’ve been driving on that section of the highway on a regular basis. The decrease in times doesn’t make sense,” Mr Boothman said.
MORE NEWS
Why second casino licence hangs in balance
Light rail cash revives giant Burleigh project
‘Significant’ drugs find at Gold Coast home
But Mr Bailey welcomed the data saying it reflects some of the upgrades undertaken by the State Government.
“The reduction in travel times between 2017 and 2018, and the downward multi-year trend in travel times, show the Palaszczuk Government’s investment is having a positive impact for motorists, getting them home sooner,” Mr Bailey said.
The Government was delivering more than $2.4 billion for the Coast and the surrounding region as part of a record $23 billion Queensland Transport roads investment program from 2019 to 2023, he added.
Four major upgrades of the M1 were underway including the $195 million M1-M3 merge, the $197 million six-laning from Mudgeeraba to Varsity Lakes, the $749 million upgrade from Eight Mile Plains to Daisy Hill and the $1 billion overhaul from Varsity Lakes to Tugun.
“We have also secured our fair share of funding to upgrade exits 41 and 49 on the growing northern Gold Coast and begun planning to upgrade exits 38 and 45,” Mr Bailey said.
Authorities quizzed on stiff penalties for crude vandals
Authorities have been pressed on what consequences await the vandals behind the shocking defacement of trees along Burleigh’s Oceanview track, which drew a larger-than-usual crowd on Sunday morning.
‘The last of the method artists’: Tributes to renowned Coast painter
Tributes are being paid after the death of a Gold Coast artist whose works were collected by the likes of Jackie Kennedy Onassis and former PM Sir Robert Menzies.