According to the summary, the tunnel would likely cost between $7.68 billion and $9.94 billion to build. It could also deliver $1.9 billion in economic benefits, including more reliable commute times, however “the monetised benefits do not outweigh the construction cost”.
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“There are a range of unmonetised benefits that will be delivered by the Gympie Road Bypass that were not able to be assessed,” the summary notes, referring also to a broader economic “uplift” of up to $8.7 billion.
The project would span nine kilometres, with seven kilometres of tunnel, largely running underneath Gympie Road. At the northern end, a cut and cover tunnel under the Beams Road intersection would connect to Gympie Arterial Road. At the other end, the portal would be somewhere north of the Stafford Road intersection, with traffic unable to enter or exit the tunnel anywhere else.
The summary reveals surveys undertaken as part of the public consultation process found only 60 per cent of people would use the tunnel themselves, although 83 per cent supported it when NBI explained the potential benefits.
“Of those who did not support the project, key reasons included a preference for prioritising public and active transport investment and not wanting to pay tolls,” the summary states.
“The process also identified feedback including minimising impacts during construction and ensuring the project did not exacerbate existing network pinch points.”
NBI will examine whether a government could leverage the expected future $34 billion of south-east toll roads and tunnels to borrow money needed to build the Gympie Road Bypass Tunnel.