Brisbane 2032: Rail, roads, housing upgrades planned as venue plan locked in

Millions of Queenslanders will have access to faster, more frequent and better-connected rail and bus services, and an upgraded Bruce Highway, while thousands of new homes will be available after the athletes leave.

Major road and rail projects, and a 20-year tourism plan are among the projects the state government is spruiking alongside its 2032 Delivery Plan.

The plan, revealed on Tuesday, outlined how a $7.1 billion venue capital works program will allow the Games to reach beyond Brisbane and enable Queensland to benefit from the legacy.

LOCKED IN: Main stadium confirmed, list of Brisbane ’32 venues revealed

While major venue developments in the southeast are at the centre of the 2032 Delivery Plan, the state government is also spruiking key road, transport and tourism initiatives as being intertwined to maximise the Games for the State through generational infrastructure.

The state government’s new Delivering 2032 and Beyond website says with a growing population, South East Queensland needed development that would amplify sporting and event opportunities, and keep the growing population moving.

For the regions, the infrastructure plan was about “turning regional cities into Olympic cities”.

Many non-venue infrastructure projects have already been announced, while more details have been revealed about others.

BRISBANE 2032 ROADS AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT PROJECTS

BRUCE HIGHWAY: More than $9b for the Bruce Highway Upgrade and Targeted Safety Programs to improve safety, capacity and flood resilience from Brisbane to Cairns.

The Bruce Highway Upgrade and Targeted Safety Programs will see investment in excess of $9 billion.

Key regional Bruce Highway Upgrades include:

Tiaro Bypass: A new four-lane bypass to increase flood immunity, safety and efficiency.

Rockhampton Ring Road: 17.4km of new roadway providing a western link of the Bruce Highway including a new crossing of the Fitzroy River. The project will improve connectivity to priority facilities, services and precincts in Rockhampton by increasing the number of access points to the city.

Goorganga Plains: improve Bruce Highway flood immunity and improve safety at the Goorganga Plains and Myrtle Creek, near Proserpine.

Cairns Western Arterial Road: Upgraded between Redlynch Connector Road and the Captain Cook Highway, improving travel times and reliability.

THE WAVE: To the Sunshine Coast, Queenslanders will ride The Wave, a new direct rail line running from Beerwah to Birtinya, linking with a state-of-the-art metro hub that will connect all the way to the Sunshine Coast airport through and beyond Maroochydore. Program includes the Direct Sunshine Coast Rail Line Stage 1 and 2 Projects (Beerwah to Caloundra – 19km and Caloundra to Birtinya – 7km). A final public transport link from Birtinya to Maroochydore and on to the Sunshine Coast Airport to be delivered by 2032.

The Wave will connect Maroochydore to the Sunshine Coast Airport.

LOGAN TO GOLD COAST FASTER RAIL PROJECT: Will double the number of tracks between Kuraby and Beenleigh to allow the free movement of both all-stops and express trains. The project will also upgrade stations to improve accessibility, remove level crossings and improve park ’n’ ride facilities.

The Logan and Gold Coast Faster Rail project.

COOMERA CONNECTOR: Also known as the Second M1, the connector will be a transport corridor between Loganholme and Nerang, east of the Pacific Motorway (M1) and the heavy train line.

CROSS RIVER RAIL: A new 10.2km rail line that includes 5.9km of twin tunnels running under the Brisbane River and CBD, with four new underground stations at Boggo Road, Woolloongabba, Albert Street and Roma Street as well as an upgraded Exhibition station.

HIGH FREQUENCY BUS NETWORK: Service improvements to cater for additional demand, including increasing service frequency, reliability and capacity in Brisbane and on the Gold and Sunshine coasts

EASTERN AND NORTHERN CORRIDOR BUS PRIORITY SOLUTIONS: Implement bus priority on the Old Cleveland Road Corridor and Gympie Road Corridor to reduce journey time and increase reliability for bus services

EAST-WEST BUS PRIORITY CORRIDOR: Bus priority measures will be implemented to improve east-west connectivity on the Gold Coast between Nerang and Broadbeach and Robina and Miami.

TRANSPORT COORDINATION CENTRE: Plan and deliver a new and upgraded facility, a transport systems upgrade, and a digital capability uplift. This will help to improve management of the region’s transport network to improve response to incidents, increase network reliability and reduce travel times.

EUROPEAN TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEM: Plan and deliver the European Train Control System Level 2 – Sector 1 network to improve safety and allow increased service frequencies on the sector 1 of the rail network (Gold Coast to Brisbane CBD to Sunshine Coast and the Redcliffe Peninsula).

ATHLETES VILLAGES

BRISBANE ATHLETE VILLAGE: Located in Bowen Hills, the Brisbane Showgrounds will be transformed to host the main Athlete Village for the Games. It will house more than 10,000 athletes and team officials for the Olympics and more than 5000 for the Paralympics.

The athletes' village at Bowen Hills.

THE GOLD COAST ATHLETE VILLAGE: To be located within the Royal Pines Resort’s development, which is proposed to include the delivery of a high-performance training facility and a masterplan residential development including a mix of housing types.

The Royal Pines athletes' village.

THE SUNSHINE COAST ATHLETE VILLAGE: Located within the Maroochydore City Centre. The CBD will be transformed with a new integrated Village, arena and cultural precinct.

The athletes' village at Maroochydore.

TOURISM

20-YEAR DESTINATION 2045 PLAN: The key focus areas for feedback that are being considered are eco-tourism, 2032 legacy, investment attraction, tourism experience development, access and connectivity and events delivery

Originally published as Brisbane 2032: Rail, roads, housing upgrades planned as venue plan locked in