Joel Davis,
Strategic Director at Image Property.
Improved Mooloolaba traffic flow taking shape
While most people love Mooloolaba, it has always had a traffic bottleneck that frustrated locals and visitors alike.
Driving towards the beach along Brisbane Road always seemed to take forever – and not just because we were eager to get to Mooloolaba’s many charms!
It was because traffic was often gridlocked with cars backed up for long stretches, inching towards their collective final destination of the beach or all of those cafes and restaurants.
But the Sunshine Coast Council established the Mooloolaba Transport Corridor Upgrade, or MTCU, project a few years ago, which will see these congestion snarls soon become a thing of the past.
Image Property’s Nathan Christmas says the second phase of the multi-year project is currently underway.
“Stage 1b of the project will see Walan Street upgraded between Venning and Smith streets to four traffic lanes,” he says.
“The project will also create a new signalised intersection at Walan Street and Naroo Court, a formalised pedestrian crossing across Walan Street and Naroo Court with pram and disability compliant access ramps and treatments, new median strips for safety and landscaping, including green space between Naroo Court and Muraban Street.”
These works are expected to be finished by the end of 2020 with the next stage due to kick off next year and run into 2022, he says.
Stage 2 of the MCTU will see upgraded intersections on Brisbane Road as well as the creation of on road cycle-lanes.
The most exciting part of the next stage of the project will be construction of the new Mayes Canal Bridge with four traffic lanes, as well as the provision for mass transit to further assist with traffic flow to and from Mooloolaba.
The final two stages of the project are expected to be completed by 2023 and will generally upgrade intersections with road widening to four traffic lanes along Brisbane Road.
There’s no doubt that the project will create a more seamless and less stressful commute for cars, bikes and pedestrians to one of the Sunshine Coast’s most famous locations.
