A frustrated resident has urged the local council to complete a major road upgrade in the heart of the Sunshine Coast.
Geoff Glanville said the fourth and final stage of the Mooloolaba Transport Corridor Upgrade had come to a standstill amid increasing traffic.
Most of the work for the $50.7 million project that started in 2018 has been done, including adding lanes to key stretches of Brisbane Road and upgrading two bridges.
A Sunshine Coast Council spokesperson said there was improved safety and traffic flow, and local authorities were committed to completing the task.
But Mr Glanville, a Culbara Street resident who said he suffered the “disruption caused by years-long roadwork”, was stunned to see the initiative come to a halt almost a year ago.
“All that is left to complete the job and remove the final bottleneck is the 270m section between the bridges,” he said.
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“The major infrastructure is in, the survey and engineering work is no doubt done, all the resumptions have been completed and the site has been cleared.
“You would think that common sense alone would make finishing the job a priority: apparently not.”
Some of Stage 4 has been completed, including service relocation and the demolition of council-owned buildings on the eastern side of the road. But further works, including upgrading the stretch of road to four lanes, installing a signalised intersection, footpaths, landscaping and opening another lane on the Mayes Canal bridge, are on hold.
Related story: Bridge work starts as part of major road upgrade
The project web page stated that “construction timing of Stage 4 roadworks is yet to be determined”.
Mr Glanville said that wasn’t good enough and congestion would get worse.
Weekday trips along Brisbane Road are expected to increase from about 21,000 this year to more than 32,000 in 2041.
“Council must reconsider its priorities and finish the job it started many years ago,” he said.
“Until the job to make (all of) Brisbane Road four lanes is completed, the intended traffic flow improvement won’t be achieved.
“Matters can only get worse as the Mooloolaba interchange (upgrade) gets underway in preparation for the Olympics – a wonderful new interchange that will direct traffic straight into a bottleneck.
“I would like to see the project put back into the ‘urgent’ section of the capital works program. It should be underway now, not 10-plus years from now.”
The council spokesperson could not confirm when the MTCU, funded by the council and the federal government, would be finished but was adamant it would be.
“Council remains committed to completing the final stage as soon as possible,” they said.
“The final Stage 4 Brisbane Road upgrade is listed together with Council’s other priorities for consideration in future budgets.”
Stage 1 was completed in 2021, while stages 2 and 3 were finished in 2023.
The spokesperson said the already-completed work had made a difference.
“It has improved safety and reduced delays during peak periods and will cater for future traffic growth in Mooloolaba,” they said.
The project was impacted in September, when newly planted trees were vandalised.
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.
