Plan for tunnel to avoid Chermside traffic came from govt money-makers

By Sean Parnell

August 15, 2023 — 8.56pm

The news

Queensland Investment Corporation seized on the idea of another tolled traffic tunnel in Brisbane and was given taxpayer funding to continue – not start – its own plans, according to internal government documents.

When Treasurer Cameron Dick announced $35 million for a study into a seven-kilometre tunnel, he said, “the proposal will be led by a new entity, North Brisbane Infrastructure, which will be established through the Queensland Investment Corporation”.

A tunnel boring machine put to work in Melbourne.Credit: Justin McManus

In the June announcement, Dick said the QIC would oversee the study into the Kedron-to-Carseldine route. However, documents obtained by Brisbane Times show pre-feasibility work had already been done, and the tunnel even had a codename – Project Polaris.

QIC had also “prepared a high-level concept for a transport solution involving tolled-tunnels from Carseldine to Kedron (twin tunnels, 7.2 kilometres, four lanes) targeted at arterial/motorway traffic” for government. It has never been released.

A Queensland government map showing Brisbane’s major toll roads and tunnels and the proposed Gympie Road Bypass tunnel (in light blue).

“The proposed Gympie Road Bypass may assist to relieve congestion by providing a bypass route for through-traffic and allowing the existing corridor to be primarily used for local traffic, active transport and enhanced public transport,” the documents state.

The Palaszczuk government will decide in the next budget, before the state election, whether to forge ahead with the multibillion-dollar project.

Briefing notes prepared for the treasurer liken North Brisbane Infrastructure to special purpose vehicles established for similar infrastructure projects, and the “streamlined assessment process” to the process being used for Olympic venues.

“Development via QIC will facilitate the infrastructure being structured as a commercial investment, including by using revenue from tolls to help finance the construction and operating costs, mitigating the direct cost to the broader community,” Dick was advised.

How we got here

Before the government got involved, Brisbane City Council set out to investigate what to do with the North West Transport Corridor, which was first marked out in the 1960s and then set aside in the 1980s for a possible future road.

The corridor between Stafford and Carseldine has been the subject of speculation and political debate for decades. The government had previously examined whether it could host a “multi-modal rail, road and active transport corridor” as part of broader works, but nothing eventuated.

The council prepared its own report for Infrastructure Australia in August 2022. But instead of coming up with possible uses for the corridor, which council had declared too narrow and environmentally sensitive to develop, the report focused on addressing the area’s underlying problems of traffic congestion and poor public transport connections.

Traffic in the CBD, the area with the best public transport services in Brisbane.Credit: Dan Peled

In March, council used the report to float the idea of road tunnels and a rail line in Brisbane’s north-west.

However, Infrastructure Australia was critical of the process and the Queensland government, which had never been involved, refused to back the ideas. The future of the corridor was left unresolved.

Parliamentary briefing notes prepared for the treasurer raise the possible question of “why would this option be any better/different” than what council had worked on and suggest Dick reply: “the Gympie Road Bypass is a shorter distance and therefore more likely a lower cost, has fewer impacts and delivers an asset to meet growing needs now”.

Why it matters

Congestion is building in south-east Queensland as people settle in areas with little access to public transport and jobs and services remain centred on the inner-city.

The documents confirm “parts of Gympie Road are already operating at capacity with traffic volumes of more than 150,000 vehicles per day”.

While the Gateway Motorway skirts the city to the east, there is no western equivalent and planners expect significant population growth north and north-west of Brisbane. The existing Airport Link road tunnel, which connects to the Clem7 and Legacy Way tunnels, goes no further north than Kedron, meaning through-traffic adds to local traffic, including around the busy Westfield Chermside shopping centre.

How we know

After a public debate between the council and government over the future of the North West Transport Corridor, and the area’s road and public transport infrastructure needs, Dick announced the QIC plan two days ahead of the state budget.

The budget contained little additional information, so Brisbane Times used the Right to Information Act to obtain the background documents, albeit with important sections still redacted.

QIC declined to answer further questions on Tuesday.

What happens next

The government expects QIC to deliver a detailed investment proposal by mid-2024 for consideration in the next state budget. It will likely seek support from the council and federal government, and has not ruled out involving the private sector.

Transurban, the tolling company that operates other Brisbane tunnels and is considered likely to work with the government on any Gympie Road Bypass, is due to release its full-year financial results on Wednesday.

Ahead of the release, Transurban conducted a survey that found more people in Brisbane were concerned about congestion (67 per cent) than people in Sydney (65 per cent) and Melbourne (62 per cent).

“High population growth is continuing to put pressure on south-east Queensland’s road infrastructure, causing increased congestion across the road network,” a spokeswoman said, predicting congestion would increase by 23 per cent over the next decade.

The political debate around these issues will only intensify, with the Brisbane City Council election to be held in March and the state election in October.

The Age