A LONG AND WINDING ROAD
More than a decade of dispute finally came to an end in 2008 when the Tugun Bypass opened to the public.
THE road to reality was long and twisted for the Tugun Bypass. Its opening in mid-2008 was a day of celebration as people walked the length of the road and through its tunnel.
It was a moment of joy after years of careful planning and for the public, who had to endure multiple false starts in the 11 years it took to take the project from the drawing board to completion.
The Tugun Bypass was first pitched in the 1996-97 financial year and had bipartisan support at a state level.
However, it failed to progress because the federal government refused to co-fund it.
Progress was made but the project hit a shock brick wall in late 2003, only weeks out from work starting, when NSW Roads Minister Carl Scully pulled the pin, citing endangered frogs, potoroos and orchids, as well as uncertainty over the project as his reasons.
It again became an issue at the February 2004 election where Premier Peter Beattie pledged another $120m for the road and a new route – but at the cost of relocating 14 homes.
Under the plans, the new route was to start from the Stewart Rd interchange, run behind the John Flynn Hospital, cut across Boyd St through a recycling centre, through the Tugun football field and the northern end of the airport and then run parallel to Adina Ave and the Pacific Highway before meeting the existing highway at the border.
This proposal came to nothing after the federal government threatened to pull its funding.
By March 2004, Mr Beattie declared it was “time to end the nonsense” after a new report revealed the land west of the Airport was of “dubious” environmental value.
Within two months, the NSW government returned to the negotiating table while the federal government used its 2004 budget to reaffirm its support.
Federal Transport Minister John Anderson left nobody in doubt of his position.
“It is now time for the Queensland government to settle its route with NSW,’’ Mr Anderson said.
“The Australian government is committed to funding our share of the Tugun bypass, because the Gold Coast Highway is now congested and slow.
“The budget shows we are standing ready to contribute $120m to the bypass but it will only go ahead when Queensland and NSW agree on a route for a full bypass.
“Our funding for the Tugun Bypass is on the table, as promised.
“All that Peter Beattie and Bob Carr have to do is to sort out the route, and we are doing everything we can to encour
age them to reach the right agreement.’’
That deal was finally cut on May 24 that year, delighting Adina Ave residents who had feared losing their homes.
NSW Roads Minister Mr Scully backflipped and agreed to support the $360m project.
“This is a considerable improvement on the previous proposal and I am now satisfied, so I am giving this my full support,’’ he told the Bulletin at the time.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done, but in the eight years I have been Roads Minister, a road I have supported has never been rejected.
“I am basically putting my
signature on this proposal.’’
Construction began in 2005 but the cost of the bypass ultimately blew past $500m, with the bulk of the cost going to the tunnel that ran under the Gold Coast Airport runway.
The Tugun Bypass finally opened to the public on Sunday, June 1, 2008, with a full day of activities, giving locals the chance to walk through the area and have a glimpse of it before vehicles started driving on it.
The first people to travel through it were the Christie family, who won a competition run by the Bulletin and Main Roads.
They made the trip in a con
vertible 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air alongside Premier Anna Bligh.
“That was a bit surreal, she’s a pretty easygoing sort of woman,’’ Michelle Christie said of the drive.
“It was great, we felt like celebrities waving to everyone.
“It was good to be part of history.”
For the residents of Adina Ave, it was a bittersweet day.
Rod Peters was one of the residents whose house was to be demolished to make way for Mr Beattie’s 2004 plan and used its opening to reflect on the decade-long battle to get it built.
“This is a fantastic result for us, the com
munity and now for Queensland,’’ Mr Peters told the Bulletin in 2008.
“It gets top marks from me, especially for its location.’’
However, it was an occasion tinged with sadness because his next-door neighbour Margaret Sells, who had helped lead the fight to save their street, died in December 2007, several months before its completion.
“It’s a shame. She would have loved to have seen it open,’’ Mr Peters said at the time.