We’ve put in the hard yards, now city must play its part

I’M happy to respond to Gael of Maudsland’s concerns about infrastructure and the Commonwealth Games (GCB, 13/3).

One of the key challenges the Palaszczuk Government acted quickly on when first elected in early 2015 was the lack of infrastructure planning and funding that was evident on the Gold Coast by the Newman Government leading into the Games.

In our first term, we secured funding to build the $420 million light rail stage two which now links the heavy rail at Helensvale to Brisbane and the light rail stage one to Broadbeach.

We acted quickly to duplicate the heavy rail line between Coomera and Helensvale and now we are able to run up to eight trains an hour to the Games.

We injected more than $353.7 million into road upgrades, including upgrades to the Gooding Roundabout, Olsen Ave, Southport-Burleigh Rd, Nerang-Broadbeach Rd and Smith Street Motorway; and a $74 million for the Coomera Interchange known as Exit 54.

Almost $1 billion worth of infrastructure investment has been delivered on the Gold Coast by Labor – not just for the Games but as a lasting legacy for the Gold Coast community for decades to come.

We’ve also started the early M1 works on both the Mudgeeraba to Varsity Lakes section and at the Gateway Merge.

With 670,000 visitors arriving for the Games there is no doubt that travel around the Gold Coast is going to be very different in the lead up to and during the Games.

The key is being well informed, planning ahead and leaving yourself extra travel time. Now is the time to get online and check out what’s coming if you haven’t already. The Commonwealth Games will be an exciting and memorable time in the Gold Coast’s history with 24-hour bus, light rail and heavy rail services.

See you at the Games!