M1 exit 57 at Oxenford / Hope Island: What’s happening with notorious intersection

Readers have been sharing stories of accidents and hair-raising near misses at Exit 57 of the M1, with many saying the chaos has scared them away from the area.

GOLD Coast Bulletin readers have been sharing their stories of accidents and hair-raising near misses at Exit 57 off the M1.

A $25 million upgrade adding multiple new lanes is about to be completed at the intersection, which serves Oxenford and Hope Island.

However the upgrade has not been well received by locals and MP Mark Boothman is campaigning for the junction to be completely rebuilt with flyovers which allow for free-flowing traffic.

Commenting on the Bulletin’s Facebook page, many locals said they avoid the intersection entirely after witnessing what happens when drivers become confused.

“Scares the hell out of me,” wrote Bec Bee. “I don’t live on the Coast anymore but I try to avoid it at all costs when I visit. I put my big girl pants on when I do have to navigate the maze of an intersection.”

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Exit 57 before work began on the upgrade. Picture: Dept of Transport and Main Roads.

Patrick Cooke said he saw a confused motorist end up driving into oncoming traffic on Tuesday.

“Yesterday (Tuesday) I was at those lights and watched a car on the wrong side of the road drive into oncoming traffic,” said. “Five near misses that I saw.”

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Many readers expressed unhappiness that right turns onto the intersection from the Old Pacific Highway behave been banned.

“They have made it more complicated than it needs to be by taking away the right turn to Coomera and from Oxenford,” wrote Dustin Rex.

“I also feel like the lane numbers on one side of the intersection don’t match with the other side, which is also why people get confused. You think you’re in the correct lane, then it turns out you’re not and need to move over.”

Design of the upgrade at Exit 57. Picture: Dept of Transport and Main Roads.

Some reported seeing motorists ignoring signs banning the right turn.

“I saw three people yesterday sitting in the middle of the road at Hungry Jack’s where you are meant to now go straight ahead, indicating and turning right,” wrote Jules Austrin

“It’s bloody crazy and very clear you can’t turn right any more, which is stupid. Flyovers would have been the answer!”

Miranda Woz said it was the most “ridiculous” upgrade to an intersection she has known.

“So much confusion, traffic doing u turns they never needed to do before which is banking up the other traffic,” she wrote.

“Oxenford is soon becoming a no go zone because the risk of an accident is just too high. I have seen so many near misses, it is scary!”

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IT’S said to be the Gold Coast’s most confusing intersection. Many locals go on rat-runs to avoid it. Unsuspecting visitors are thrown by its tangle of road markings, leading to hair-raising prangs and near misses.

A new upgrade, costing $25 million, is just weeks from completion. But if anything, local residents are unhappier than ever at what’s happening at Exit 57 on the M1, which serves Oxenford and Hope Island.

A local business leader summed up the mood, telling this column that “you could not print” what he actually thinks of the design.

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Towies know the area well. Among accidents at Exit 57 in recent weeks was a young lady who sideswiped a truck when she didn’t realise her lane was about to end. Another got so confused she panicked and ended up facing towards traffic exiting the motorway, before reversing when she realised her mistake.

Motorists who avoid the junction are believed by locals to be causing a spillover problem in nearby streets. Residents on Michigan Drive in Oxenford say they have seen a large increase in traffic as some drivers choose to head for Exit 60 at Helensvale rather than brave the mayhem at 57.

While some of these problems will surely ease when the upgrade is completed in coming weeks, few locals have faith it will deliver lasting change.

Theodore MP Mark Boothman said the problem is the work being done is a short-term solution which fails to take into account population growth in the area.

“We get regular complaints from residents,” he said. “People feel that it’s as confusing as ever.

“... Most people say it’s a short term solution. That’s what residents keep saying to me.

“We need to make sure that if we’re going to do an intersection government needs to put in mind capacity for future growth in the area.

“When they build these interchange upgrades, they go with the cheapest one they can do and don’t put any forward planning in.

“That’s what people say and I agree with them.”

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For their part, the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) said locals were heavily consulted between March and June 2019 and an “exhaustive process” was undertaken to identify the best design, with safety and traffic flow the key priorities.

“Several design alternatives were assessed through the preliminary and detailed design phases,” a spokesperson told this column.

“The final design uses all available land and the existing bridge structure to maximise the area available to widen the interchange to accommodate additional lanes.”

LNP Member for Theodore Mark Boothman. Picture: Jerad Williams

Mr Boothman maintains that what is needed is a “future-proof” upgrade involving free-flowing lanes and far less traffic lights. More than 1000 people have signed a petition he has organised calling for such a project.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey is dismissive of the idea, saying the cost would be enormous.

“The LNP have already made $23 billion in unfunded promises,” he told this column.

“Now Mark Boothman wants commit to yet another project that could cost Gold Coasters hundreds of millions of dollars.

“Deb Frecklington and the LNP need to come clean on who they will sack, what services they will cut and what assets they will sell to fund these massive promises.”

Mr Bailey said the Palaszczuk government was delivering $2.3 billion-worth of M1 upgrades. “Our hefty investments will see at least six lanes on the M1 from the border to Brisbane,” he said.

Mr Boothman concedes that his proposal for Exit 57 would be expensive, but insists there is no other option, saying the current upgrade just delays the inevitable.

“What we are proposing is obviously going to be a lot of money, but it’d be future proof for many, many years,” he said.

The proposed Coomera Connector interchange at Helensvale Road. Picture: TMR

There is concern locally that cost issues might also be playing a major role in plans for the most important transport project on the cards for the area, the $2.4 billion Coomera Connector.

Council is unhappy that an exit is proposed connecting the “second M1” to Helensvale Road a little over 500m from the busy local high school, which caters for more than 2500 students. They would prefer the exit be built further north at Hope Island Road.

TMR told this column that connecting at Hope Island Road is “not feasible” because “there would be significant additional costs involved ... including purchase of properties and additional bridging.” A spokesperson added that “hydraulic issues ... would make connecting to Hope Island Road problematic and would cause nearby properties to flood during major weather events.”

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If the state must proceed with an exit at Helensvale Road, Division 2 councillor William Owen-Jones suggested they take charge of the stretch between the Coomera Connector and nearby Exit 60 on the M1, and fund the necessary upgrade works.

“The city has a modest capital works budget,” Cr Owen-Jones said. “If the state wants to impact on our roads network, they maybe should consider taking on the financial responsibility.”

One thing is clear. When it comes to solving the growing traffic gridlock on the northern Gold Coast, there are no easy options.

It’s a bit of a tangled mess. There is frustration, road rage even, among many of those driving what’s happening in the area.

Very much like what you may encounter if you take a peak-hour trip through the intersection at Exit 57.