After a slow start and a series of massive budget blowouts, work is ramping up on the eagerly-anticipated Coomera Connector, also known as the second M1.
The Australian and Queensland governments said major construction milestones have been delivered across all three packages of the $3.026 billion project designed to ease the pressure off the gridlocked M1.
More than 1 million working hours have been clocked by crews on the Stage 1 North package, with some significant achievements reached.
The almost 1km bridge that spans the Coomera River, Hope Island Road and Saltwater Creek is rapidly taking shape with 350 bridge girders installed and 13 bridge deck concrete pours completed so far.
Further installations will commence from mid-September on the 50 girders required for the overpass and pedestrian bridges over Helensvale Road.
Crews have also been busy laying more than 1500m of asphalt, including the first section of the main motorway alignment near McPhail Road and in areas for future widening around the Helensvale Road interchange and Shipper Drive.
While bridge construction and asphalt laying continues in these areas, work will also begin to ramp up in the next six months for the Coomera Link Road section, where a new signalised intersection will be installed at the Foxwell Road and Shipper Drive roundabout.
Set-up of the site compound on the South package is underway and heavy vehicle access has been constructed at Boulton Drive to allow critical preloading works to start in the coming months.
“As one of the biggest infrastructure investments for the region, the Coomera Connector will improve safety, travel times and transport capacity,” said federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King.
“It will also ensure the viability of the M1 not only from a national freight perspective but also, as an intra-regional commuter route and an integral part of the region’s tourism system.”
Stage 1 of the Coomera Connector is expected to progressively open to traffic in sections from late 2025.