An eerie quiet has descended on a once-bustling Sunshine Coast neighbourhood, where dozens of houses are set to make way for transport infrastructure.
Dilapidated buildings, including ex-luxury residences on the waterfront, dot the landscape in eastern Mountain Creek.
Streets and driveways are empty, doors and windows are boarded and there isn’t a person in sight in Paraka Court, Ewinga Court, Imara Court and along a stretch of Cootamundra Drive.
The properties are set to make way for a mega interchange upgrade and a public transport route.
But there is no sign of project workers or machinery yet.
Instead, there are a handful of security cameras and several warning signs. Police have been called to the area after reports of trespassing and anti-social behaviour multiple times in recent months and the Department of Transport and Main Roads has ramped up surveillance.
Sunshine Coast News asked TMR several questions about the area, regarding property acquisitions, project timeframes and more.
A spokesperson provided some information.
“The majority of properties required to support the delivery of the Mooloolah River Interchange Upgrade (MRIU) and The Wave Stage 3 (Metro) are now owned by TMR,” they said.
“This will support the delivery of the generational infrastructure project, including a new transport corridor that will improve north-south connectivity on the Sunshine Coast.
“TMR continues to work closely and respectfully with the remaining property owners.”
Some details were unavailable for safety and privacy reasons.
More than 50 properties in the Mountain Creek area are required to accommodate major infrastructure associated with the transport projects, including a new bridge structure and corridor connecting Kawana Way to the Sunshine Motorway, along with staging areas to store materials, machinery, offices and amenities.
TMR owns 49 of the properties in the area, with the resumption process well underway for the remaining three.
Footage on social media prompted viewers to express their shock at the sight of the abandoned streets.
“That’s crazy to see … sad to see an end of an era,” one commented.
“Imagine the poor people that have to leave their homes,” another said.
“Super sad. What a beautiful place to love and now ruined for roads,” one person said.
“Sad to see but we need the infrastructure to grow. If we don’t do this now …. we will be sitting in traffic for most of our day,” another added.
The MRIU and The Wave Stage 3 are expected to significantly improve traffic flow and public transport on the Sunshine Coast.
The former consists of a redesign and rebuild of a prominent Sunshine Motorway interchange. Early works for the first phase of the upgrade are underway, including site preparation and clearing, service relocations and geotechnical investigations.
The latter is expected to include of a public transport metro vehicle system between Birtinya and Sunshine Coast Airport, including stations at Mountain Creek and Maroochydore.
Stage 3 will connect to Stage 2 of The Wave, which will feature a rail line and stations between Birtinya and Caloundra, and Stage 1, from Caloundra to Beerwah.
The owners of dozens of properties that were earmarked for acquisition for Stage 3 have been spared, after the transport corridor between Birtinya and Mountain Creek was confirmed.
Recently released maps showed some properties, mainly in the area of Mountain Creek, were still set to be affected but the owners of 81 properties previously identified as potentially impacted were recently notified their land won’t be needed for the project.
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