Coomera Connector speed limit: What it will be when Stage One North opens

The Coomera Connector will operate under a reduced speed limit when the first section opens in 2025. Here’s what it will be.

The speed limit will be 80km/h when the first section of the Coomera Connector opens in 2025.

Work is advancing fast on Stage One North of the 45km highway, from Shipper Dr in Coomera to Helensvale Rd in Helensvale.

Speaking at the worksite beside the Coomera River on Friday, Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said dry weather was helping construction crews.

“We’re very happy with construction to date,” Mr Bailey said. “We’ve got an El Nino weather pattern coming. That generally means dry weather and constructors love dry weather, we can really crack on and get a lot of work done.”

Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey at the site of construction works on Stage One North of the Coomera Connector in Helensvale. Picture: Keith Woods.

The long-awaited ‘second M1’ in the northern Gold Coast is due to have a posted speed limit of 100km/h.

However the Bulletin revealed two weeks ago that Stage One North would have a reduced limit when it opens ahead of other stages, meaning drivers could be limited to lower speeds for a number of years.

“When Stage One North is open to traffic it will be under temporary traffic management including reduced speed limits,” a TMR spokesperson said.

“So in the interim period this section of the Coomera Connector will be operating as a local connector road rather than the final intra-regional transport corridor.”

TMR sources said the reduced limit would be 80km/h. They stressed the reduced limit would add only 30 seconds to journeys from Coomera to Helensvale.

Detailed map of Stage One North of the Coomera Connector.

Minister Bailey said Stage One North would save many drivers considerable time by allowing them to avoid the M1 and they would be “ecstatic” when it opened, regardless of the posted speed limit.

“It’s designed to be 100km/h when all the sections are open. The initial section of course, the northern section, it will be a 4km section, so there’ll be a temporary speed limit there,” he said.

“But I think people are going to be ecstatic when it opens so they can go south without having to get on and off the M1. It’s going to save them a fair bit of time. A lot of time.

“And I think people are just going to be grateful to see the infrastructure open and built to their benefit.

“We take advice from our traffic engineers on issues of safety and speed limits, there’s a whole lot of decisions around that, but I think it will be a relief to people to use this new infrastructure, get down to the Gold Coast Highway much faster and more directly, and I think people will be pretty happy with that.”

Minister Bailey would not say if fixed speed cameras would operate on the road, saying: “We haven’t got to that stage at this point.”

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