The Coomera Connector, formerly known as the Intra Regional Transport Corridor, is a proposed motorway that will connect

Logan City Logan City is a local government area situated within the south of the Brisbane metropolitan area in South East Queensland, Australia. Situated between the City of Brisbane to the north and the City of Gold Coast to the south, the City also bor ...

with the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

South East Queensland South East Queensland (SEQ) is a bio-geographical, metropolitan, political and administrative region of the state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.8 million people out of the state's population of 5.1 million. T ...

, Australia. It will run parallel to the M1 Pacific Motorway for its entire length and will run adjacent to the

Gold Coast railway line The Gold Coast railway line is an interurban railway line operated by Queensland Rail in Queensland, Australia, connecting Brisbane with the Gold Coast. The line currently includes stops at 17 stations. In 2021, a journey from Central statio ...

south of Coomera. The Stage 1 of the motorway between Nerang and Coomera commenced construction in March 2023 and will be completed in late 2025. The rest of the motorway is currently under planning . As of July 2022 the business case for future stages is due for completion by the end of 2023.

Design

The Coomera Connector is broken up into northern (between and ) and southern (between and ) sections. The southern section, known as Stage 1, is long and is further broken up into three sub-sections, to be delivered separately: *Stage 1 North: between Shipper Drive at Coomera and Helensvale Road at *Stage 1 Central: between Helensvale Road and Smith Street Motorway at *Stage 1 South: between Smith Street Motorway and Nerang-Broadbeach Road at Nerang The motorway is wide enough for six lanes. However, fewer lanes may be built in some sections in the medium-term, depending on transport demand modelling and available construction funding. The Hope Island railway station of the

, which is adjacent to the Coomera Connector, will also be constructed in conjunction with Stage 1.

History

Planning

Since the 1990s, the Coomera Connector corridor has been identified in various public planning documents and Gold Coast planning schemes. A joint 2015 study between the

Department of Transport and Main Roads The Department of Transport and Main Roads, known often as TMR, is a department of the Queensland Government, formed in April 2009 with the merger of the Queensland Transport and the Department of Main Roads. The department manages Queensland ...

(TMR) and

City of Gold Coast The City of Gold Coast is the local government area spanning the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia and surrounding areas. With a population of 606,774 it is the second most populous local government area in Australia (City of Brisbane being the ...

confirmed the corridor as a future strategic transport link that will relieve traffic congestion on the M1 Pacific Motorway. The Coomera Connector was also formally declared a future state-controlled road. The Stage 1 corridor was gazetted in 2016, while the rest of the corridor (northern section) was gazetted between 2017 and 2019. The preferred route of the northern section was confirmed in April 2021. Residents along the alignment of the northern section had expressed concerns that there was uncertainty of the timeline on when their properties would be acquired and demolished. residents were also concerned with the impact of the northern section on the Eagleby Wetlands, a flood plain home to birds and reptiles. Initial community consultation on the Coomera Connector was undertaken in late 2019, with subsequent community consultation of Stage 1 undertaken between 2020 and 2021.

Construction

Early works construction with site investigations were undertaken for Stage 1 in 2021. Main construction began in March 2023.

Funding

The

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and

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governments have committed a total of on a 50:50 basis to plan and construct Stage 1 of the Coomera Connector. In September 2021, it was reported by media that Stage 1 had a cost blowout of 40% or , and the total cost of Stage 1 is . The Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey defended the rising cost to have been caused by "an infrastructure boom". The state government has also committed to continue planning for future stages of the Coomera Connector.

References

External links

Commera Connector
{{Road infrastructure in Queensland Roads in Queensland Highways in Queensland South East Queensland Proposed roads in Australia