Coomera Connector (Stage 1), Coomera to Nerang

The Stage 1 section of the Coomera Connector between Coomera and Nerang is around 16km and has been identified as the priority section to be built first.

Benefits

• Improves safety
• Increases capacity
• Improves network efficiency
• Increases traffic flow
• Reduces peak hour congestion
• Reduces interchange queuing
• Reduces travel time
• Contributes to economy
• Better active transport

Funding

This project is jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland governments. Investment ID 1776678

• Coomera

  Concept video showing what the planned Coomera Connector road may look like when constructed in the vicinity of the Coomera River, including an overpass at Hope Island Road.

• Helensvale

  Concept video showing what the planned Coomera Connector road may look like when constructed in the vicinity of the Helensvale including how the new road is positioned in relation to the Helensvale transit hub.

• Parkwood

  Concept video showing what the planned Coomera Connector road may look like when constructed in the vicinity of the Parkwood, including an overpass at the Smith Street Motorway near the Parkwood light rail station.

• Nerang

  Concept video showing what the planned Coomera Connector road may look like when constructed at Nerang, including a new bridge over the Nerang River.

Business case summary for Stage 1

The business case for the Coomera Connector (Stage 1) was approved in September 2021 by the Queensland Government and in February 2022 by Infrastructure Australia with additional funding secured to cover increased costs resulting from a competitive building and construction market due to COVID-19, and higher material and labour costs being experienced throughout Australia.

The complete Stage 1 business case is more than 1,000 pages and details the extensive investigations and data completed by numerous content-experts specific to their relevant fields. On that basis, the majority of the report is commercial-in-confidence.

Read the Stage 1 business case summary.

Download the Stage 1 business case summary (PDF, 9.62MB).

View the Infrastructure Australia summary evaluation of the business case. 

Community consultation

The department performed initial community consultation on the 45-km Coomera Connector corridor in late 2019. Outcomes from this indicated that 80% of participants supported the Coomera Connector being built as soon as possible. It also showed that noise, landscape, and environment were key issues raised by those who live close to the Coomera Connector.

The department held a second round of community consultation focusing on Stage 1 in September 2020. This consultation gave the community an added opportunity to have their say on key priorities for the project.

In addition to this, a Coomera Connector (Stage 1) Community Reference Group was established for the business case phase of the project. The purpose of the Community Reference Group was to gain community input from key resident, business and environmental stakeholders into negotiable aspects of the project.

As the business case is now finalised, the purpose, scope and objectives of the Community Reference Group is complete. Its input has been valuable in understanding community priorities and has been instrumental in guiding key urban design and environmental elements of the project.

The urban design elements explored by the Community Reference Group and identified as community priorities were:

• design of noise barriers
• design of retaining walls
• landscaping and planting in and around the project corridor
• design of a shared path for walking and bike riding.

A series of artist's impressions were developed, based on the ultimate 6-lane design, to show how these elements could look for the Coomera Connector (Stage 1).

The department requested feedback from the wider community on the artist's impressions in March 2021, and this feedback was considered as part of the design process.

Download the Questions, Issues and Opportunities report from the Community Reference Group.

View other historical publications for the Coomera Connector.

Environmentally sensitive design

To ensure the Coomera Connector is designed and delivered in an environmentally sensitive manner, the department has been working with a range of subject matter experts and stakeholders.

Over the past 4 years, extensive surveys have been conducted along the Stage 1 corridor, including:

• wildlife surveys to determine habitat values for native fauna, including koalas
• flora surveys to determine the presence of protected plants
• aquatic ecological surveys and water quality monitoring, including a 12-month survey within and adjacent to Coombabah Lake.

Environmental approvals have progressed, with the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) assessing Stage 1 of the project under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. DCCEEW confirmed the Coomera Connector (Stage 1) to be a controlled action that was assessed by a Public Environment Report. 

The draft Public Environment Report was released for public review and comment from 11 October 2022 to 15 November 2022. 

DCCEEW granted approval for Stage 1 of the project in March 2023 and approved the offset area management plan in August 2024.

Koala management plan

Recognising the significance of koala populations in the northern Gold Coast, the department has developed a Koala Management Plan as part of our responsibilities to deliver Stage 1 of the Coomera Connector.

The Koala Management Plan will guide the design and implementation of a suite of measures to understand the current extent and health of the koala population in the vicinity of the Coomera Connector project area and ensures that koalas are appropriately protected during construction and operation. This approach ensures that the department complies with relevant state and federal legal requirements and meet community expectations for the welfare and conservation of koalas in and around the corridor.

Conservation strategies forming the basis of the Koala Management Plan include:

• undertaking monitoring and research to provide baseline data on koala populations
• best practice fauna movement infrastructure to facilitate the movement of koalas in wildlife corridors
• working with all levels of government to establish potential future koala habitat areas (local offsets) and maintain important wildlife corridors.

In August 2021 the department engaged Endeavour Veterinary Ecology to undertake a koala tagging and monitoring program, and a Koala Stakeholder Reference Group and established a koala management program to share information on the progress of the program.

To ensure that impacts to habitat are addressed, the plan also includes the acquisition and rehabilitation of additional land to support local wildlife populations and to offset areas of habitat lost for the Coomera Connector.

The Koala Management Plan is included in the Public Environment Report.

As part of an extensive research program, the Coomera Connector (Stage 1) project has also provided funding to EVE in their research, development and trials of a new and innovative koala 'doggy door'. Officially called the 'Fauna Escape Hatch', this device will allow one-way movement of animals through the structure. Testing in near-real-world conditions is now underway and results so far are compelling with koalas opting to use the hatch 100 per cent of the time when it is available.

Coomera Connector Stage 1 Koala Preservation

Video Transcript

One of the problems for koalas who find themselves on busy highways or in rail corridors is they find their way in, but they have trouble finding their way out.

Through our work at Endeavour Veterinary Ecology, we've been asked to undertake some trials to see what devices could we develop or test to see which are the most effective for koalas to escape danger areas.

So Sarafina, the koala that we will put through the egress trial today has the choice of three different escape routes, the koala escape pole, the push under and we've got the valve.

We've run over 50 trials now and the results are quite interesting.

The koala escape pulp, which is the traditional escape method that we see on our roads.

Although koalas do choose to go up there, they often will only sit and come back down.

A higher percentage of the koalas successfully escaping through either the escape valve or push under.

Bayer's actually seeing what koalas do in real time, wild koalas.

It has been a game changer for us.

We have teams of vets and field operation workers and ecologists.

And so it's not based on theories, it's based on the koalas that we are actually providing a treatment to, before they released back in the wild.

We provide a very safe scenario in which these koalas help us determine what device would be the most effective.

I don't think there's anyone else in the country that has that capability or the resources to deliver on this really important project.

The issue with wildlife getting onto these highways, onto rail corridors, is one of safety not only of the animals but of the people themselves.

The results can be catastrophic.

Look, I've got to do a shout out to Transport and Main Roads in Queensland.

They were the protagonists for us to undertake these trials, the legacy it will lead.

This benefits the safety of wildlife, but also of humans.