M1 congestion to cost millions unless new highway is built to the Gold Coast

GOLD Coast workers travelling to Brisbane will be losing more than $400 million out of their pockets each year unless a solution is found to gridlock on the Pacific Motorway.

THE M1 car park will cost Gold Coast workers travelling to Brisbane more than $400 million in lost wages each year unless a solution is found to the gridlock.

The estimated congestion cost is conservative because it only assumes delayed travel times on the Pacific Motorway will be extended by 30 minutes each way.

The forecast is made from using the latest Treasury figures which predict the Coast workforce travelling to Brisbane will increase to 45,000 in 2040-41.

Traffic Congestion on the Pacific Motorway around the Foxwell and Abraham Road exit at Coomera. Pic Jono Searle.

Combined with 75,000 commuters from Logan, Brisbane’s transport network will need to cope with an influx of 120,000 workers each day.

Chamber of Commerce Queensland general manager Kate Whittle said researchers, in crunching the figures, only considered the extra cost of the journey in peak hours.

CCIQ’s Kate Whittle — congestion costs on the M1 are worse than predicted. Pic — AAP/Steve Po

The value of lost time was calculated by using the average income with the loss amounting to $37 an hour.

“This measures the direct cost of congestion. There were other costs we have not be able to quantify like lost productivity, mental health and social issues,” Ms Whittle said.

The RACQ said delays in travel time due to congestion for employees travelling between Brisbane and the Coast was currently costing about $47.2 million in lost productivity each year.

Traffic Congestion on the Pacific Motorway around the Foxwell and Abraham Road exit at Coomera. Picture: Jono Searle

Stakeholders agree the best solution is fast forwarding the planned Intra Regional Transport Corridor, a six-lane highway east of the M1 between Pimpama in the north to Carrara in the south.

The IRTC has the potential to take up to 60,000 vehicles off the M1 and would be the preferred option for workers than heavy rail to Brisbane.

LNP leader Tim Nicholls has rolled out a petition supporting the 36.5km stretch of new highway and the Government had gazetted the land.

But funding commitments and time frame for it to be built have yet to be made by either party.

LNP leader Tim Nicholls on the Gold Coast — he has begun a petition for the M2 to gauge community support. Picture Glenn Hampson

RACQ head of public policy Rebecca Michael said: “The State and Federal Governments have committed to over $500 million this year to upgrade parts of the M1. While this will go some way to easing congestion, the RACQ would like to see additional projects to continue upgrading the M1,” Ms Michael said.

“However, as the M1 reaches capacity, it will be equally important to identify and develop alternative corridors to take the pressure off the M1 and mitigate congestion while support population growth and transport needs of motorists.”

Traffic chaos on the M1 after an accident on the Nerang River bridge. Picture Glenn Hampson

The RACQ believes alternative corridors such as the IRTC offer better solutions than adding extra lanes to the existing highway.

“There are practical limits to how many lanes you can expand to on the M1, which can become very expensive if land has to be resumed,” Ms Michael said.