The Department of Transport and Main Roads is finalising the detailed design for an upgrade to one of the Sunshine Coast’s busiest intersections.
The project aims to improve conditions for motorists along a stretch of Mooloolaba Road, from Syd Lingard Drive at Buderim to Tantula Road West at Alexandra Headland.
The 700m section is used by about 20,000 vehicles a day and is prone to congestion and weaving traffic.
It currently features a multi-leg intersection, including connections with the Sunshine Motorway and Sugar Road, and two lots of traffic lights close to each other.
The design phase for a revamp is expected to be completed within weeks.
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A TMR spokesperson said more information will be known then.
“The Department of Transport and Main Roads is progressing with detailed design for the Mooloolaba Road, Syd Lingard Drive to Tantula Road West Intersection Upgrade, previously known as the Mooloolaba Road and Sugar Road Intersection Upgrade,” they said.
“The project has undergone careful reassessment against longer-term planning priorities and has incorporated feedback from the community to ensure it delivers the best outcomes for road users.”
The upgrade is expected to improve lane configurations to optimise traffic flow and improve the overall operation of the Mooloolaba Road bridge over the motorway.
The major parties made a $15 million pre-election pledge to improve the area in September.
Member for Buderim Brent Mickelberg, now the Transport and Main Roads Minister, said then that an upgrade was “critical”.
He said it would “help ease a traffic chokepoint and help local drivers get to work or school on time and back home to their families quicker”.
There were previous design plans for the Mooloolaba Road and Sugar Road intersection but they were put on hold, before being revised and expanded.
“The project was paused in 2023 due to rising construction costs after the detailed design was completed in November 2022,” a TMR spokesperson said.
“TMR has reviewed and revised the original design to feature upgrades at Syd Lingard Drive and Tantula Road West, prompting the project’s renaming to reflect its revised scope.”
More details on costs should be available once the design is released.
The upgrades are expected to complement the nearby Sugar Road and Maud Street upgrade project, which is being managed by Sunshine Coast Council.
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 intelligencez data sets, and geospatial tools to assist with urban planning, monitoring and development projects in Australia, New Zealand and North America.
