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Braking point: overhaul planned for Steve Irwin Way as Sunshine Coast roads choke

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Steve Irwin Way could be doubled to four lanes and connected to a future alternative highway west of the Bruce in a bid to ease worsening gridlock on the Sunshine Coast.

Sunshine Coast News can reveal planning has been undertaken to upgrade Steve Irwin Way to a dual carriageway arterial, with traffic light intersections at key locations.

It comes as the hinterland tourist route has turned into a rat run for drivers avoiding the congested and accident-prone Bruce Highway, becoming jammed at peak times, especially on weekends as visitors go back to Brisbane.

More than 67,000 vehicles drive north on the Bruce Highway on Fridays as holidaymakers and commuters head to the Coast, according to transport department data clocked at the Plantation Overpass.

Then, on Sundays, more than 52,000 cars make the journey south.

Steve Irwin Way shoulders another 5,000 to 6,000 vehicles.

The traffic has become so bad that going for a leisurely Sunday drive to explore hinterland villages like Maleny and Glass House Mountains has turned into a mission.

Picture: Sunshine Coast Traffic Info Facebook

Frustrated locals are getting caught up in bumper-to-bumper jams on Steve Irwin Way and the Bruce Highway on Sundays as southbound lanes hit a crawl from as early as 10am.

Drivers say the busy Bruce is now an “absolute disaster” and become so bad on weekends and peak times that locals have to rethink their plans.

On any given Sunday, the highway can be banked up southbound from north of Beerburrum to the Sippy Downs exit, as well as down Caloundra Road and the Sunshine Motorway near the university.

Steve Irwin Way is also a nightmare, with cars building up from the Mooloolah Valley turn-off and creating a conga-line all the way to Beerburrum.

Heading north, the Friday rush of visitors coming to the Coast, which used to start towards knock-off time, now begins before midday and even come a day earlier, on Thursday.

Workers who commute to Brisbane are getting caught up in worsening holiday traffic with some forced to consider finding new jobs.

But the situation on the roads is expected to get worse before it improves, with drivers facing at least another two years of traffic hell before a $662.5 million project to widen 11km of the Bruce Highway to six lanes between Caboolture and Caloundra is due for completion in late 2023.

Meanwhile, it’s still at least another two years before any plans to widen Steve Irwin Way reach the crucial funding-decision stage, let alone construction.

Transport and Main Roads (TMR) has confirmed it is working on ideas for the future upgrade of Steve Irwin Way.

That roadway expansion was separate to planning currently underway on the Bruce Highway Western Alternative (BHWA) — a back road between Caboolture and Beerburrum.

“Our vision is to upgrade (Steve Irwin Way) to a dual carriageway arterial with signalised intersections at key locations along the route,” said a TMR spokesperson.

“Pending the outcome of planning for the BHWA and upgrade of Steve Irwin Way, the state and federal governments will work together to fund the design and construction of these projects.”

Land for a future Bruce Highway Western Alternative is being considered in four stages, with the final stage linking to the Sunshine Coast.

The department is currently planning for the Bruce Highway Western Alternative (BHWA) and will gazette a corridor for the future project.

The land is being identified in four stages, with the final section linking to the Sunshine Coast (D’Aguilar Highway to Steve Irwin Way) not to be investigated until 2023.

“We have identified a preferred corridor for Stage 1 of the BHWA through Caboolture West with gazettal to start early next year (2022),” said the TMR spokesperson.

“Further technical planning work is required to identify a corridor for the future stages of BHWA.

“Stage 2, south of Caboolture West, between Moorina and Narangba, is the next priority.

“Possible corridor options between D’Aguilar Highway and Steve Irwin Way will be investigated as Stage 4 of the BHWA. These investigations are expected to start in 2023.”

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Sunshine Coast Traffic Info spokesman Brendan West said people were constantly complaining on Facebook that the highway had become worse over the past six months.

“It’s becoming this absolute disaster. It doesn’t matter what sort of day it is on the Bruce Highway; two lanes doesn’t cut it,” said Mr West.

“You’ll spend more time on the Bruce Highway then you will on your holiday. And it’s getting really hard to judge. Back in the day you used to be able to pick and say we’ll leave early or we’ll leave late. However those are now the peak times.

“I don’t really think there is a good time to drive on the Bruce Highway anymore.”

Mr West said “weekend, after weekend, after weekend” members of the Sunshine Coast Traffic Info Facebook page were posting complaints about the Bruce Highway.

“We know as an admin team to be ready for the influx of posts and influx of member requests to join the group that are going to be coming on Thursdays and Fridays because that’s when it picks up,” he said.

“Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays are the worst and we see a huge traffic increase on our page and on the roads.

“It also doesn’t stop there. Once the weekends are over, the southbound traffic kicks back in on Sunday afternoon.

“And people ask us every day, every post, they say ‘How’s the traffic on the Bruce Highway?’ and the classic answer is, I can’t use the word people use, but the traffic is usually buggered.”

State Member for Glass House Andrew Powell said drivers should expect “more pain before the gain” because of roadworks that will be happening over the next couple of years to widen the Bruce Highway.

Mr Powell said the pandemic had created a bumper tourism season for many businesses on the Coast as more people holidayed locally, but the flipside was extreme congestion.

He said it was “impossible” for people to visit the hinterland from the Coast during peak southbound traffic as the Bruce Highway and Steve Irwin Way were both busy.

Mr Powell said the priorities he would like to see happen were the lane widening, a proposed Western Alternative to the Bruce Highway and getting the CAMCOS railway line happening.

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