Motorway route continues to spark backlash from residents
By Sonia Isaacs
ELIMBAH and surrounds residents are calling for the immediate withdrawal of the March 2025 proposed Bruce Highway Western Alternative (BHWA) Stage 4 alignment, citing its unnecessary incursion into the Elimbah SEQ Development Area despite strong local opposition.
Earlier this year the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) unveiled a revised route that runs west of Elimbah, aiming to link Moodlu and Beerburrum via rural and state-owned land. However, the alignment still cuts through the north-west corner of Elimbah’s future growth zone – an area community members insist should be protected.
“It has been made abundantly clear that our community does not want the highway to go through current or future residential areas,” Elimbah local, Kim Litchfield said.
“A true ring road further west, along cleared state land and power easements, would reduce disruption, protect homes and farms, and serve the actual purpose of a Bruce Highway alternative.”
Moodlu and Elimbah residents, alongside City of Moreton Bay Councillor, Tony Latter, have lodged formal submissions urging the route be shifted further west to align with community preferences.
“It needs to operate like a ring road around the urban footprint,” Cr Latter said.
TMR maintains that the newly proposed alignment represents a compromise following earlier consultation.
“The investigations identified a new proposed alignment… that significantly reduces property impacts and community severance,” a TMR spokesperson said.
“The proposed alignment responds to community requests for a more westerly route, while providing a practical balance of project objectives and transport outcomes.”
However, community members argue the planning remains flawed.
“The early planning undertaken by TMR appears to lack the detail required to adequately assess and appreciate the social and environmental impacts, technical feasibility and financial viability,” Ms Litchfield said.
The Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) also supports rerouting the highway outside the Elimbah SEQ Development Area, warning the current proposal risks undermining future housing and employment land.
Residents continue to highlight the impact on working farms, with some properties bisected at severe angles, rendering them unviable.
“The way TMR has divided working farms is unacceptable… it prioritises road connectivity over homes and livelihoods,” one resident said.
Details about these investigations completed to date, including the alignment, can be found in the latest project newsletter and the detailed planning summary on TMR’s project webpage: https://www.yoursay-projects.tmr.qld.gov.au/bhwa/stage-4.
