TMR accused of ‘kneejerk’ enviro study for M9 Coomera Connector at Eagleby

Residents in a SEQ suburb are coming out swinging as tensions ramp over over the Coomera Connector.

The second stage of the Coomera Connector, known as the second M1, is designed to encircle Eagleby and its wetlands. Pictures: TMR

Eagleby residents staged a weekend protest after learning key environmental studies for the second stage of the Coomera Connector were reportedly only now underway, days after the public submission period closed.

The demonstration took place along Schmidt Rd, beside bushland earmarked for the motorway, which is part of the 29km Coomera Connector linking Loganholme to Coomera, eventually to be called and designated the M9.

Eagleby resident and convener of the Eagleby Wetlands Group Robert Livingstone said locals were stunned by the timing.

Eagleby resident Robert Livingstone said the weekend protest came after residents found out that a key environmental study had not been completed. Picture: Contributed

“We were told these assessments had already been done, so finding out they hadn’t really rattled people,” he said.

“Our protest was on Schmidt Road to show where the freeway is proposed to go across the wetlands.”

The protest was just one day after the public submission period closed on December 5, leaving residents frustrated they could not review important environmental data before the deadline.

A TMR spokesperson did not deny the residents’ claims the environmental study was incomplete, but said “numerous environmental studies have been undertaken by TMR in relation to this proposal and will be ongoing”.

The department did not clarify which studies were completed before the submission period, or why some assessments reportedly only started after the deadline.

It did, however, say the government was committed to working with the community during the environmental approval process.

The planned motorway will cross the Logan River twice and also cross the Albert River. Picture: TMR

The federal EPBC referral, which closed on December 5, does not constitute environmental approval, but sets the pathway for TMR to seek approvals.

Construction on the next stage is scheduled to start on January 1, 2028, and finish in 2041.

The route includes major bridges over the Albert River, Sandy Creek, and Pimpama River, along with fauna crossings, cycle paths, noise barriers, and new interchanges. More than 100 homes and buildings have already been resumed.

The motorway skirts the environmentally significant Eagleby Wetlands, which residents argue is too sensitive — and too flood prone — for a project of this scale.

Originally published as TMR accused of ‘kneejerk’ enviro study for M9 Coomera Connector at Eagleby