A vital Sunshine Coast interchange upgrade is moving through detailed design while a federal environmental assessment continues.
The project at the Caloundra Road, Kawana Way Link Road and Bells Creek Arterial Road intersection will now be delivered as one project rather than in stages.
Earlier planning proposed first installing a signalised intersection before building the longer-term overpass interchange, but the Department of Transport and Main Roads has confirmed that staged approach is no longer proposed.
The project would include new north-south bridges over Caloundra Road connecting Kawana Way Link Road and Bells Creek Arterial Road, allowing traffic travelling between the two roads to pass above Caloundra Road without stopping, separating it from east-west traffic below.
Dedicated turning lanes are planned on Caloundra Road at the new ramp intersections, while pedestrian and cycling facilities would also be improved.
A TMR spokesperson said project timeframes would continue to be refined and would depend on a range of factors, particularly federal environmental approval.
TMR referred the project to the Australian government late last year after its environmental assessment identified likely significant impacts on koalas, wallum sedge frogs and the endangered coastal swamp sclerophyll forest ecological community.
The referral said some loss of the forest habitat could not be avoided because of the existing road layout.
It also said the project footprint would be refined during detailed design, with measures to avoid or minimise impacts to native vegetation and habitat where feasible.
The Australian government determined on February 12 that the proposed upgrade was a “controlled action” under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 because of its potential impacts on the listed threatened species and communities.
This means the project can not proceed without federal approval.
TMR is now preparing further environmental information as part of that assessment, while the federal EPBC portal continues to list the project’s status as “assessment commenced”.
A Transport and Main Roads spokesperson said design work was continuing alongside that process.
“The Queensland government is progressing design work for a major upgrade of the Caloundra Road, Kawana Way Link Road and Bells Creek Arterial Road intersection to improve safety, reduce congestion and support the growing transport needs of the Sunshine Coast.
“The project forms part of the broader Caloundra Congestion Busting Plan, a coordinated program of works aimed at improving traffic flow and network performance across the region.”
Current work includes geotechnical investigations, surveying, alignment studies and traffic modelling, which will help refine the design of the intersection and overpass.
The federal referral listed an estimated project start date of January 2028, but TMR stopped short of confirming a construction timeframe in its latest update.
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Project costs have not yet been confirmed.
Funding to progress the interchange forms part of the wider Caloundra Congestion Busting Plan.
More than 60,000 vehicles travel along the Caloundra Road corridor each day, with TMR reporting traffic growth of at least 30 per cent during the past two decades.
The broader congestion-busting program also includes upgrades at other key Caloundra intersections and a separate proposed east-west link between Aura Boulevard and Pelican Waters Boulevard.
