Road works shortfalls ‘disaster in the making’

CITY councillors are worried that development in the northern Gold Coast corridor is quickly outstripping road and transport infrastructure.

With massive developments in the pipeline, including St Joseph’s College Coomera which is due to open in 2019 and is expected to have 1800 students within six years, and the Coomera Town Centre opening later this year, city leaders are demanding the state government step up to upgrade more northern Gold Coast roads.

Deputy Mayor Donna Gates said Yawalpah Road, which runs off housing estate Gainsborough Greens in Pimpama, now had $13m allocated in upgrades by the Gold Coast City Council across three budgets because it was a “nightmare” to drive on.

“We spent $80 million duplicating the road off Exit 54 but the benefits weren’t seen until the intersection was upgraded (by state government),” Cr Gates said.

She said she was hoping to fast track it through an infrastructure agreement with developers.

“There’s a lot of growth on Eggersdorf Road, it’s being widened as part of development applications,” she said.

She said there was also the possibility of an extra slip lane being built in to help with traffic heading back and forth between schools.

“What’s really important to note about the northern Gold Coast is other than the M1 and Stapylton-Jacobs Well Road, there’s no roads provided by the state government,” Cr Gates said.

“The council is working on an overall traffic program, with the state government, to come to a joint arrangement for a road network — and there has to be a contribution from the state.

“I think every level of government needs to get their head around providing the infrastructure as... we’ve brought the development.”

Cr Gates said the north was now under “extreme pressure” because the roads had simply not kept up.

Local MP Michael Crandon agreed, saying under the latest state budget, northern suburbs had been left in the lurch.

He said Exits 41 (Computer Road), 45 (Mirambeena Drive to Tillyroen Road) and 49 (Pimpama-Jacobs Well Road), which are the state government’s responsibility, are in desperate need of upgrades.

“Exit 45, which started as acreage development, is now very high density, (also) being an exit for an industrial area,” Mr Crandon said.

“On Tillyroen Road, the people are coming out of Ormeau Hills and Ridge, typical mums and dads bringing their kids to school.

“We’ve got the ramping back onto the M1 ... they’re not doing anything about the exits on the M1.

“The important point here is that not one penny, not a cracker... has been allocated for any of these three exits, not a dollar.”

Mr Crandon said any funding provided in the current budget was too far south.

The Minister of Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey said the Queensland government was “completing the planning needed at other M1 exits at Pimpama, Ormeau and Yatala.”

He said the state government had invested nearly $1 billion on “Gold Coast transport infrastructure for the Commonwealth Games and beyond with the Northern Gold Coast being a major beneficiary.”

Mr Bailey said the heavy rail line had been duplicated between Helensvale and Coomera, Exit 54 at Coomera had been upgraded and they were delivering on their $25 million election commitment with upgrades at the Oxenford Interchange.