PROPER planning for new major arterial roads north of Brisbane needs to begin sooner rather than later, according to the RACQ.
People heading south into the city for work each morning don’t need to be told there is a traffic congestion issue on the Bruce Highway.
And problems are made much worse when there is an accident or breakdown, leaving traffic banked up for kilometres, as it did last Friday.
The traffic had ground to a halt more than 20km north of the city.
RACQ spokeswoman Renee Smith said road and highway upgrades were not enough to fix the issue.
She said new routes were essential to address the growing traffic congestion, including several through Pine Rivers.
“We know the southeast corner will continue to grow so we need governments to progress Bruce Highway upgrades now, while also investigating alternatives for the future.
“With peak-hour Bruce Highway traffic a huge issue, we need to ensure we’re planning properly now so we’re not in an even worse position in the years to come.”
Ms Smith said the North-South Urban Arterial could be considered as an option.
The arterial is east of the Bruce Highway between Caboolture-Bribie Island Rd and the Pine River/Gateway Motorway, and runs through the suburbs of North Lakes, Mango Hill and Griffin.
“The proposed route goes from Pine Rivers/Bald Hills to Stafford. It is also a preserved corridor and could be used for road transport and rail,” she said.
Ms Smith said the North West Transport Corridor could be an alternative option to the west of the congested Gympie Rd.
The corridor starts near Gympie Rd and Strathpine Station and goes south to Bridgeman Downs, McDowall and Everton Park to connect with Alderley Station and Shand St in Alderley.
The State LNP has pledged to investigate alternative routes for major arterial roads, including the Bruce Highway, if elected at the upcoming state election.
Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls said solutions were needed to address the growing congestion issues right across the southeast.
“We will undertake a stocktake study of existing transport corridors to see if these are still viable as alternative routes,” he said.
He said new routes should be staged, to allow a gradual rollout.