Moreton Motorway route heads back to drawing board after community backlash

The news

Queensland’s transport department will go back to the drawing board on a proposed route for part of a key south-east road connection dubbed the Moreton Motorway.

Consultation on stage four of the Bruce Highway Western Alternative fielded hundreds of community concerns, many over its proposed path and impact on more than 100 homes.

As a result, the state government has announced it will instead pursue routes to the west of Elimbah – a town north of Caboolture which, like the Moreton Bay area, has been identified as a future growth area.

Back in 2021, Bellmere Road farmer Bryan Parkinson said the stage-one section of the proposed highway west of Caboolture would mean his home would be destroyed. Now those likely affected by another section have spoken.Credit: Tony Moore

“New investigations into an alternative route are nearing completion and are expected to be complete in early 2025, when a more detailed project update can be provided,” Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg said.

Why it matters

An alternative to the Bruce Highway is expected to service vast new developments and future population growth to its west, between Bald Hills and Beerburrum.

Years of planning, jointly funded by the federal government, has split the 57-kilometre project into four stages. Its middle two – between Moodlu and Narangba – are finalised.

But the remaining northern- and southernmost segments – between Moodlu and Beerburrum, and Narangba and Bald Hills – are yet to be locked in.

While route options for the northern, stage four, section were proposed as part of the recent community consultation, these have now been scrapped.

The proposed route of the Bruce Highway Western Alternative, or Moreton Motorway, showing finalised stages one and two, the study area for a southern third stage, and the now-dumped stage four to the north.Credit: Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads

What they said

In a government media release from Mickelberg late on Friday, the department was said to have had more than 850 submissions between late 2023 and early 2024.

While they were said to have covered several themes, more than 70 per cent contained views on “the project design and corridor location, ideas for alternative routes, and suggestions to utilise existing roads”.

Key concerns included potential property impacts, environmental preservation, lifestyle changes and cultural heritage issues, with suggestions ranging from small tweaks to entirely new routes.

Mickelberg said the Crisafulli government had heard the community’s concerns and ruled out the previous route.

Speaking to journalists on Saturday morning, government minister Amanda Camm said she hoped the families set to have been affected would have welcomed the announcement before Christmas.

“Through the advocacy of Minister [for the Environment and Glasshouse LNP MP Andrew] Powell, as the local member there, we’ve been able to save 100 homes, over 100 homes as part of that,” Camm said.

Another perspective

The Transport and Main Roads Department website was quietly updated with the news in late September, days before election caretaker mode.

“As a result of feedback received, new investigations are under way into routes further west of the Elimbah township. These investigations will continue until early 2025,” the update noted.

What’s next

Planning for the road corridor also includes a strategy to bolster the rail line between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast for passengers and freight.

Key features include signalling and park-and-ride upgrades, level-crossing treatments, rail capacity improvements and “future rail corridors”.

Major construction of a $1 billion stage-one upgrade between Beerburrum and Nambour, including track duplication, is expected to begin next year and finish in 2027.

This month, Mickelberg said the government’s next steps – for passenger rail from Beerwah to Maroochydore by 2032 – were being considered by the 100-day Olympic Games review.

“I look forward to getting that feedback, which may inform the manner in which we go about building [the line],” he said.

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