Tugun Bypass
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Tugun Bypass Pacific Motorway Queensland–New South Wales |
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| Type | Freeway |
| Location | Tugun |
| Length | 7 km (4.3 mi) |
| Opened | July 2008 |
| Route number(s) |  |
| NE end | |
| SW end | |
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Highways in Australia National Highway • Freeways in Australia Highways in Queensland Highways in New South Wales |
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The Tugun Bypass is 7.5 kilometres (4.7 mi) long, bypassing through the suburb of Tugun on the Gold Coast, Australia. The speed limit on the Tugun bypass is 100 km/h and provides a high-speed motorway link between the Gold Coast and northern New South Wales, separating interstate vehicles from local traffic. There is a 400-metre tunnel under the extension to the Gold Coast Airport runway. The bypass connects directly to the Pacific Motorway between the Stewart Road interchange at Currumbin and the Tweed Heads Bypass north of Kennedy Drive. Opened in 2008, it has significantly relieved traffic congestion on the Gold Coast Highway corridor. The Tugun Bypass carries the M1 designation and is officially called the "Pacific Motorway". The Tugun bypass has two vehicle lanes in each direction, with provision for widening to three lanes in the future.
For more than 20 years the Gold Coast has grown by 17,000 permanent residents a year, placing enormous pressure on the city's infrastructure requirements, in particular the Gold Coast Highway between Currumbin and Tweed Heads. Speculation about a bypass began in the 1960s when the South Coast railway line was closed.
It was not until the Beattie Government was in office at the end of the 20th century that a firm commitment was made to the bypass. In 2003 Acting Prime Minister John Anderson and Queensland Transport Minister Steve Bredhauer announced a 50 per cent joint agreement for the project allowing the project to proceed. In May 2004 the Queensland and New South Wales Governments finally agreed to build the Tugun bypass along the western side of the Gold Coast Airport, after New South Wales reneged on an agreement signed in 2000. The New South Wales government had previously been reluctant to go ahead with the project, citing environmental and planning reasons.
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