The M1 Pacific Motorway in South East Queensland is one of Australia’s busiest highways and is also a national freight route. The M1 links key population and employment centres in Brisbane, Logan and the Gold Coast to each other and to the east coast of Australia. ShapingSEQ, Connecting SEQ 2031, the State Infrastructure Plan and Gold Coast City Transport Plan all articulated the need for an additional strategic road link to the east of the M1 to address growing congestion issues and support future residential and economic development between Brisbane and the Gold Coast.  

The Coomera Connector (formerly known as the Intra-Regional Transport Corridor) is a future state-controlled north-south corridor on the northern Gold Coast, situated east of the Pacific Motorway (M1). The Coomera Connector will be a key link in an expanded road transport network for the northern Gold Coast where residential and business communities are growing.  

VLC Involvement: 2018 to 2021 

 

Client requirements

VLC was commissioned by TMR to assist with the transport modelling for the Strategic Assessment of Service Requirements (SASR) phase to inform a deeper understanding of the project need and problem definition for the project. We were then retained to provide demand forecasting and economic assessment to support the Preliminary Evaluation of the project, including assessment of options and identification of preferred options to progress to Business Case development. 

Finally, VLC was engaged to provide demand forecasting for the preferred options through a Business Case process for Stage 1 of the Coomera Connector (between Coomera and Nerang).

 

Delivered outcome

VLC delivered transport modelling outcomes and insights, along with economic assessments, to guide TMR through the project. We helped develop the team’s understanding of the various project options and their benefits to aid the design process, the formation of the project’s narrative, and provide the justification of the project. Our team contributed both our technical advice and reporting and developed relevant sections of the business case documentation. We represented the project team in briefing sessions to state and federal review bodies, including Infrastructure Australia, and through formal peer review and Gateway review processes. 

Related projects

> Coomera Connector future stages business case
> Coomera Connector Bus Network Strategy