A long-awaited road connection from a fast-growing suburb to the Bruce Highway is progressing, but its scheduled completion date has been pushed out.
AVID Property Group, which is the developer of the Harmony estate at Palmview, began work on the connection road in August last year, with a scheduled completion date of mid-2023.
In a statement, an AVID spokesperson said works on the connection had progressed well, however there had been significant challenges in the building and construction industry relating to supply and labour that had impacted the whole of the development and construction industry.
They said these issues had been exacerbated by wet weather at critical phases of the delivery program, which had caused further delays and challenges in relation to complex infrastructure relocation and realignment works.
“We are looking forward to delivering this vital, long-awaited piece of infrastructure to the Palmview community before the end of 2023,” the spokesperson said.
“Despite all of these challenges, construction continues and landscaping will commence shortly with over 72,330 plants to be installed alongside the future road connection.
“It has been a long and incredibly complex journey to deliver this second connection road and we remain committed to delivering this connection for the growing local community, including our residents at Harmony.”
The commencement of work on the road last year came after a petition was circulated on Charge.org pleading for the highway connection, which had been promised for years, to be fast-tracked.
AVID general manager Queensland Bruce Harper said at the time “the process has taken longer than people would have liked but the negotiations were complex and the time was needed to achieve the best possible outcome between all parties”.
Last month, Harmony residents were reportedly trapped in the estate as a result of a crash on Claymore Road, Sippy Downs. Since January 2022, road access has reportedly also been cut off due to flooding and a bushfire.
The Bruce Highway is one of four roads planned to connect Palmview to the wider community.
The first connection, Peter Crosby Way, was completed in 2017. Following the delivery of the Bruce Highway connection, AVID will in the future construct a two-lane Southern Road link followed by a connection to Springhill Drive in Sippy Downs.
After launching six years ago, Harmony has become home to about 6200 residents – close to half the community’s projected total population of 13,000.
The community – a $4 billion project – will comprise 4800 homes, a town centre with a supermarket, commercial spaces and dining facilities.
In April, Harmony was recognised as the National Project of the Year and winner of the National Award for Masterplanned Communities at the Urban Development Institute of Australia National 2023 Awards for Excellence.
Sunshine Coast News also contacted the Department of Transport and Main Roads about the Bruce Highway connection, which said “AVID would be best placed to respond to your questions”.
The aerial imagery in this story is from Australian location intelligence company Nearmap. The company provides government organisations, architectural, construction and engineering firms, and other companies, with easy, instant access to high-resolution aerial imagery, city-scale 3D content, artificial intelligence data sets, and geospatial tools to assist with urban planning, monitoring and development projects in Australia, New Zealand and North America.
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