Next year before route of ’connector’ confirmed
CONCERNED residents will not know until next year, after the State poll in October, the full details of the route and business case for the Coomera Connector.
Bonney MP Sam O’Connor in a Question on Notice in state parliament asked Transport Minister Mark Bailey for the timeline for the business case given community consultation on the proposed second M1 concluded six months ago.
He asked for specifics on “when the business case will be completed and publicly released to give nearby residents in The Surrounds and Arundel Springs an understanding of what this project will look like”.
The Bulletin in January last year revealed residents in $1 billion developments in the tight transport corridor between Parkwood and Helensvale east of the Pacific Motorway feared their properties could be acquired to enable the new six-lane highway to be built. New mapping released during the recent community consultation showed the Coomera Connector will not force property resumptions at Arundel or Helensvale, but Mr O’Connor, after taking photographs of TMR’s fly-through video, wanted more detail.
Mr Bailey in his response told the MP: “The Coomera Connector business case is currently being developed during 2020 for this substantial project by the Department of Transport and Main Roads and will be finalised next year.
“The gazettal of all three sections of the Coomera Connector, public consultation and the business case have all had to be done by the Palaszczuk Government after three wasted years of inaction by the Newman LNP Government.
“Earlier this month, the Queensland Government released a consultation report, summarising the outcomes of community consultation undertaken in late 2019. This is available for the community to view along with a fly-through of what the project could look like when complete.”
Mr Bailey said TMR would undertake further community consultation on the Coomera Connector project later this year when more detailed information was available, as part of the usual business case process.
Mr O’Connor, who was shocked to learn of the response when contacted by the Bulletin, said the government did not need several years to develop a business case.
“It’s an insult to every Gold Coaster who has to sit through traffic on the M1. Labor has not committed a cent to build this new road and this ridiculous delay shows they’re not serious about infrastructure on the Gold Coast,” he said.
“Labor has been in power for six years, it shouldn’t take them that long to realise the M1 is a nightmare and we need a second route for local traffic. You shouldn’t have to jump on a national highway to drive from Carrara to Coomera.”
Mr O’Connor said the lack of a business case for the Coomera Connector meant it could not be considered on the Commonwealth’s Infrastructure Priority List.