Tugun Bypass to open six months early

By Bob Wilson, 24th April 2008

The Queensland Government says it will open the 7.5km Tugun Bypass on 2 June, six months earlier than the expected finishing date set for the $543 million four-lane road.

The new bypass is strategically important for development and business on both sides of the Queensland/NSW border, as it will slice considerable time off the Brisbane-Sydney journey.

The bypass is designed to eliminate traffic bottlenecks between the M1 (the Brisbane-Gold Coast Motorway) and the Pacific Highway into northern NSW. The State/Federal road initiative has been in the works for some years, but no doubt Kevin Rudd's Federal Government will also take credit for it - and also the $455 million concurrent eight-lane upgrade between the Gateway and Logan motorways and Tugun.

The Rudd Government also says it's fully committed to the original $2.4 billion plan to fast-track the Pacific Highway upgrade.

Acting Queensland Premier Paul Lucas, Main Roads Minister Warren Pitt and Federal Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese announced the early opening of the Tugun Bypass last week, saying there would be a "community preview" for locals on 1 June. Lucas says the Tugun Bypass was a top priority when he became Main Roads Minister in 2004.

Traffic modelling shows 46,000 vehicles will use the bypass each day, reducing traffic along the Gold Coast highway 55%.

The bypass, which connects the Stewart Road interchange at Currumbin with the Tweed Heads bypass in NSW, will cut travel times between Currumbin and Tweed Heads to five minutes, putting an end to a notorious traffic bottleneck. However, Pitt says motorists can still expect some delays while the Stewart Road interchange is completed.

Albanese says the bypass will save $1.9 billion in reduced travel times and vehicle operating costs and $59 million in avoiding accidents over 30 years.

Prior to the Federal election, Labor detailed how it would progress the Pacific Highway upgrade, of which the Tugun Bypass is an important link.

Despite NSW Government plans to limit population growth and development in the ecologically sensitive Northern Rivers region, road upgrades are continuing apace.

They include the $446 million Ballina Bypass, which will upgrade 12.4km of dual carriageway road south from the intersection of the Bruxner and Pacific Highways and north of Ballina, at the intersection with Ross Lane at Tintenbar.

The Federal Government also plans to spend $335 million duplicating the road from Tintenbar to Ewingsdale, linking the Ballina Bypass from Sandy Flat Road to the existing dual carriageway at Ewingsdale.

The Tugun Bypass is the last link in what will soon be a fast motorway journey from Brisbane to Byron Bay. As we have observed, important infrastructure links such as the Tugun Bypass can open up new areas to investment and in this case investors on both sides of the border are likely to show renewed interest in residential property in the affected areas.

ENDS