Early works have started on the most southern stage of the $3 billion Coomera Connector, after early construction of the second M1 had focused on northern river crossings.
The areas south of the Nerang River will be the focus of the early works, which will include relocating service utilities and earthworks and ensuring the site is construction-ready.
Stage 1 of the project will deliver a new 16km connection between Coomera and Nerang, with construction occurring in three phases: north, central and south.
Once complete, the road is expected to remove up to 60,000 local trips from the M1 per day, easing congestion and providing an alternative route for the growing communities and commercial hubs of Helensvale and Coomera.
The Albanese and Miles Labor governments have each committed over $1.5 billion to plan and construct the Coomera Connector Stage 1 project. This includes an additional $432 million each in this year’s state and federal budgets to ensure its delivery.
Coomera Connector Stage 1 North between Shipper Drive and Helensvale Road is underway and expected to open progressively from late 2025 while early works are underway on Stage 1 Central between Helensvale Road and Smith Street Motorway.
The main construction tender for the south package has now been released, and has narrowed the preferred contractors to a list of three.
These three contractors will now undertake detailed assessment, looking at innovative ways to build this section of the Coomera Connector.
“There’s no doubt that the Coomera Connector is a complicated project,” said Queensland Transport Minister Bart Mellish.
“A number of river crossings further north on stage one north and stage one central. There’s significant piling works that we see through some of the old cane land there and, essentially, on floodplains.
“Further south here, some of those challenges are not quite as pronounced as at the northern end but, you know, of course the landscape here, there’s significant rock blasting that needs to occur and rock drilling – I’m probably getting the engineering terms a bit wrong there.
“But a significant project that we need to connect in with the rest of the road network.”