The future of one of the Sunshine Coast’s busiest intersections has opened to public feedback, with residents invited to have their say on the proposed upgrade’s environmental impacts.
The state government’s Caloundra Road, Nicklin Way and Pelican Waters Boulevard project has now been referred to the federal environment department as site investigations get under way.
The intersection is a key access point for Caloundra and surrounding coastal centres, linking major routes to the Bruce Highway and handling up to 60,000 daily commuters.
The project, which is in the planning stage, involves upgrading the existing four-leg dual-lane roundabout at the southern entrance to Caloundra within the already established urban transport corridor.
Member for Caloundra Kendall Hatcher told Sunshine Coast News the state government was “working hard” to improve traffic woes and the intersection was the “centre point of the pain for traffic congestion”.
“It has tens of thousands of touchpoints every single day, and getting this project moving forward is long overdue. It has been called for by the people of Caloundra for as long as I can remember,” she said.
A revised ecological assessment report, commissioned by the Department of Transport and Main Roads, published on April 23 found the project was unlikely to have major environmental impact due to its footprint being in an existing road corridor.
Targeted fauna surveys recorded 59 species, with koalas and short-beaked echidnas confirmed in the broader study area.
The report stated that under federal guidelines there would be “unlikely significant impact” on the koala, grey-headed flying fox, south-eastern glossy black-cockatoo or coastal swamp sclerophyll forest.
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However, it identified a likely significant residual impact on mapped wetlands of high ecological significance and watercourses, with state environmental offsets anticipated.
The proposed intersection upgrade forms part of the broader Caloundra Congestion Busting Plan, which is expected to reduce congestion, boost capacity at key intersections and improve travel times and safety.
“The Caloundra Road/Nicklin Way roundabout sees everyone having to use it to get around, and moving forward with this project will help traffic flow better,” Mrs Hatcher said.
“It will mean people won’t have to spend so much time in their cars. It will make it easier to do everyday things, getting to and from work, getting kids to school, getting to sport and the shops.
“The last thing anyone wants is to be sitting in traffic that should be flowing and moving more effectively.”
In a statement released on Friday, the state government said more upgrades were in the pipeline under the Caloundra Congestion Busting Plan, including a design for new north to south bridges over Caloundra Road and investigations into a future link between Aura Boulevard and Pelican Waters Boulevard.
Public submissions on the Pelican Waters intersection project, which close on May 12, 2026, will now help inform the federal government’s decision on whether it can proceed and under what conditions.
