7 News just reported that some transport projects will be delayed to make way for more critical PT projects, such as the Gold Coast Fast Rail project (7 News, 2025).
Joint Statement: Budget kick-starts early works on transformative Mooloolah River Interchange Upgrade
​“The Mooloolah River Interchange will transform the Sunshine Coast’s road network, bust local congestion, enhance safety and future proof a critical transport link for one of Queensland’s fastest growing regions.
​“While Labor refused to back this project, the LNP is delivering for the Sunshine Coast.”
LOL at once again busting congestion by adding lanes, etc. and LOL at the LNP for going all in on a road the feds did not want to fund and chastising Labor who went all in on, checks notes, CRR!
To play devil’s advocate, the MRI upgrade is about 20 years overdue and the existing interchange is so badly at capacity that it breaks down the entire central traffic network on the Sunshine Coast.
All traffic heading into the central part of the Sunshine Coast or wanting to head up to Maroochydore gets bottlenecked from 3 lanes on the Bruce Highway into 2 lanes on the Sunshine Motorway and then into a single lane at the MRI before being spat out in a way that causes daily accidents. Congestion in the morning and evening is a daily thing, and also impacts traffic flow for most of the day on weekends.
It also affects public transport by contributing to significant delays to the bus routes that have to travel through it which is problematic as one of those routes (615) is a feeder bus for the Sunshine Coast line, so the wildly inconsistent travel times can cause people to miss their train.
Obviously I hope the budget is centred around public and active transport investment but even I have to admit the MRI should have been 3 lanes decades ago.
The Sunshine Motorway is pretty abysmal. Its nearest equivalent elsewhere is probably the laughably named Smith Street Motorway, and that doesn’t seem to suffer anything like the same issues (even before the light rail extension).
Oh, I understand you. Im basically a coast local having lived there 4.5 years. The weaving that we have to do exiting Mountain Creek and Coming from Sippy Downs to go to Kawana/Maroochydore/Moolaba e diabolical. The overpass that removes it will be a very welcome change.
I just wanted to highlight the irony that going all in on PT project == bad for team blue, but all in for roads is ok. 
I didn’t realise you were also up here (I thought I was the only one in this forum, haha).
I am not sure if any changes are being made to the MRI design to incorporate public transport (I know the version floated a few years here was car-centric) but I suppose it’s one of those cases of any progress is good progress. I’ve heard of a few occasions now where tourists heading from Mooloolaba back to Brisbane have tried to get the bus back to Landsborough and been so delayed that they missed the train (forcing them to wait 90 minutes for the next one) so I’ll take whatever we can get!
Hopefully the design also includes a protected overpass or underpass for heavy rail. I know the state government is all-in on BRT from Birtinya to the Airport but it would not hurt to include provision for rail if they’re clearing forests and ripping up most of the interchange anyway.
Ops, to clarify, I lived there for almost 5 years but I have since moved to Brisbane 
I still keep an eye on news and PT news from the coast because it is hard to let it go after such a long time.
Funny that you mentioned missing a train because of a bus delay - that almost happened with me a few years ago when I was going to Brisbane and inside a 615 FULL of people. The bus driver had to talk to the people at landsborough station and ask them to hold the train for a bit.
This is all the MRI needs to fix not the super intersection and Niklin Way duplication.
Public transport users: The LNP government has always been adamant it would not wind back 50 cent fares, but the initiative has now been budgeted as an ongoing measure, with the former Labor policy now referred to as “the Crisafulli government’s permanent 50¢ fares”. There is $5.75 billion earmarked with the federal government for faster rail between Logan and the Gold Coast, and $5.5 billion will be spent on “The Wave” linking Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast.
It worries me a fair bit that there hasn’t been a single mention or even a bit of noise about GCLR4 in this budget. No business case, no pre-engineering funds, nothing.
But the Community Alliance (CA), which represents more than a dozen local advocacy groups and is opposed to light rail Stage Four, said it wants to see funding for east-west bus routes, the Coomera Connector and heavy rail.
Use modern, comfortable, Zero Emission Buses (ZEBs) or Brisbane Metro style vehicles running high frequency at 10-minute intervals to service the network,” CA leader John Hicks said.
“And extend heavy rail from Varsity Lakes to Gold Coast Airport, with efficient interchange hubs serviced by ZEBs at the new stations.”
The Alliance opposes the proposed Springbrook cableway but wants funding for a Hinterland Environmental Tourism Information and Interpretative Centre.
I understand that the previous funding allocated for the GCLR4 business case still exists, but has been “quarantined” while the review into the project continues.
Did anyone see any information on the regional smart ticketing rollout in the budget papers?
Good catch, I just had a look through TMR on the capital statement and nothing specific for smart ticketing, although it could fall under IT or another subcategory perhaps?
The Gold Glider is coming
To be stuck on KSD and Ann Street 
At least it is coming!
Outer lanes on KSD should be T3 lanes. Left lane on Ann & Wickham Sts should be Bus Only. This would help significantly.