Improvements are being made to a key Sunshine Coast intersection that carries more than 20,000 vehicles per day.
Work started on the Sugar Road and Mooloolaba Road intersection, between Syd Lingard Drive and Tantula Road West, on Monday.
The state government expects that the $30 million upgrade will help address congestion, boost safety and enhance connections.
The project’s refined scope and design includes: constructing modified right-turn lanes east bound on Mooloolaba Road overpass; constructing two dedicated left-turn lanes from Sugar Road to Mooloolaba Road; road widening to provide more lanes westbound from Sugar Road; installing signalised pedestrian crossings; realigning the slip lane on the motorway southbound exit ramp intersection; providing dedicated on-road bike lanes and off-road paths; and installing improved lighting.
Local MP Brent Mickelberg welcomed the start of works.
“As the Minister for Transport and Main Roads and the Member for Buderim, I know how important this upgrade is to our community,” he said.
“Any Sunshine Coast local knows that this is a bottleneck that constricts all of our traffic and, for Buderim locals, this is the main cause of congestion. I’ve been fighting to get these upgrades delivered since before I was elected in 2017.
“Work on these improvements has started and, when finished, they will make a real difference for the 20,000 motorists who travel through this busy section of our road network.
“This upgrade is about delivering practical improvements that reflect what our growing community needs and deserves and is part of our broader commitment to deliver better roads and infrastructure for the Sunshine Coast, ensuring we’re well-equipped to meet the demands of the 2032 Games and beyond.”
The project is expected to be finished next year.
Mr Mickelberg said the state government was focused on building “generational infrastructure” for the region’s growing population.
He said there was record investment in The Wave, the Mooloolah River Interchange, and “now we’re getting on with the job of upgrading the Sugar Road, Mooloolaba Road intersection”.
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The major parties made a $15 million pre-election pledge to improve the area in September.
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 told Sunshine Coast News in August.
“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.”
The upgrade is expected to complement the nearby Sugar Road and Maud Street upgrade project, which is being managed by Sunshine Coast Council.
There will be some disruptions to motorists during works.
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.
