Indooroopilly Roundabout to be Removed
03 December, 2010
Lord Mayor Campbell Newman today unveiled plans to replace the dangerous Indooroopilly roundabout with traffic lights as part of his commitment to tackling congestion on Moggill Rd.
Cr Newman said plans involved removing the roundabout and replacing it with a major six-lane T-intersection connecting Moggill Rd and Coonan St, although the design had not yet been finalised.
He said Council would vote on Tuesday to allocate $17 million in this year’s budget to purchase the old Denmac Ford site in the middle of the roundabout and to undertake further planning.
Cr Newman said that while he did not expect that work on the project would start this term, the purchase was necessary to preserve the roundabout site from being developed after the owners recently lodged development intentions.
“Moggill Rd is a congested nightmare and while we’re expecting the Legacy Way tunnel to take pressure off it something still needs to be done about the major bottleneck at the Indooroopilly roundabout,” Cr Newman said.
“Replacing the roundabout with traffic lights will improve traffic flow to both the Western Freeway and Walter Taylor Bridge, which will in turn reduce congestion on the rest of the road network.
“We identified the need for an overhaul of the roundabout as part of our neighbourhood planning process and buying this land now, not later, will give both the project and the landowner certainty.”
In 2007 12,500 vehicles per day (vpd) were using Moggill Rd inbound and 15,000vpd outbound, increasing to 16,000vpd and 19,000vpd respectively by 2026. Traffic numbers on Coonan St will increase from 10,000vpd in both directions to 13,000vpd inbound and 12,000vpd outbound.
Walter Taylor Ward Councillor Julian Simmonds said he had long held concerns for the safety of motorists and pedestrians crossing the roundabout and was committed to getting it fixed.
“There have been 66 accidents at this roundabout in just five years and I’ll be working closely with the Lord Mayor every step of the way to make sure we get the safest outcome possible,” he said.
“Congestion is also a major issue and this project will complement the 15 years worth of road works the Lord Mayor is delivering in just four years through his record Road Action Program.”
In September this year Lord Mayor Campbell Newman also announced that a major upgrade of the Moggill Rd/Centenary Motorway intersection would be undertaken as part of the construction of the Legacy Way tunnel linking Toowong and Kelvin Grove.
“We predict that Legacy Way will cut traffic numbers on Moggill Rd by up to 18 per cent thanks to the tunnel offering to slash travel times between Jindalee and the Inner City Bypass from 30 minutes to 10 minutes,” Cr Newman said.
Cr Newman said current plans would not affect the adjoining service road. [Ends] December 3, 2010
