The community is being asked to have its say on plans for a future upgrade at the Mooloolah River Interchange on the Sunshine Coast.
Federal Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, Paul Fletcher said he welcomed the views of the local community.
“The Mooloolah River Interchange upgrade will provide key safety improvements by helping to reduce crashes at the interchange and improve travel time on the Sunshine Coast,” Minister Fletcher said.
Queensland Transport and Main Roads Minister, Mark Bailey said community feedback was being considered as part of the detailed design for the jointly-funded $327.5 million first stage of the upgrade.
“We know fixing the Mooloolah River Interchange is a priority for Sunshine Coast residents, and it’s a major part of the Queensland infrastructure investments in our COVID-19 Economic Recovery Plan,” Mr Bailey said.
“The upgrades that are a focus of the upcoming detailed design process will make the interchange safer and less congested, and mean quicker trips between the emerging Maroochydore central business district, the Sippy Downs university campus and the Kawana hospital precinct.
“More than 550,000 people are expected to be living on the Sunshine Coast in 20 years, so we need this upgrade to support the growth that is coming and take pressure off Nicklin Way.”
Mr Bailey said the layout was being provided to the community to capture feedback before detailed design starts.
“We will then move to detailed design and construction, keeping the community updated as the project progresses,” Mr Bailey said.
“Motorists who travel on the Sunshine Motorway, Brisbane Road and nearby roads know the safety issues caused by weaving traffic and understand how important these planned improvements are.
“I encourage the Sunshine Coast community to provide feedback to help us understand community needs.”
Member for Caloundra, Jason Hunt said the upgrade would deliver major improvements to travel times between Maroochydore, Kawana and growing communities around Caloundra.
“We need this upgrade to support the growth that is coming and take pressure off Nicklin Way,” Mr Hunt said.
“From an engineering perspective, this project will be tricky with needing to traverse rivers and will have to be designed and delivered in multiple stages to keep traffic flowing.
“That’s why we want locals to give us feedback at this early stage to help us understand community needs before detailed design progresses.”
Stage 1 of this project is being jointly funded, with $160 million from the Australian Government and $167.5 million from the Queensland Government.
For more information on the Mooloolah River Interchange, including how you can have your say, view the planning layout and watch the animated video flythrough, visit www.tmr.qld.gov.au/mooloolahriverinterchange.
