The North West Transport Corridor (NWTC) is a preserved highway corridor that runs the entire length of McDowall Ward, from Carseldine to Everton Park. In the very southern part of the corridor a section of four-lane arterial has already been built, as the Everton Park Link Road, in 2021. You can find information on the history of the corridor on the TMR website here.
In the last couple of years, the future of the NWTC has re-emerged as a political football, kicked around by both major parties.
The big concern is, once the proposed tunnel under Gympie Road turns out to be economically unviable, we’ll be back to talking about a surface road down this corridor as a cheaper plan B: dividing the community, increasing traffic congestion, and re-enforcing car dependency.
On the other hand, this land represents an amazing opportunity for us to improve the amenity of our local community here in McDowall.
If it were degazetted as a transport corridor, we could use this land to build one of our missing schools in Carseldine; a community centre and library at Albany Creek Road; and a properly managed, wildlife-friendly, active-transport enabling green spine right down the middle of our suburbs.
To that end, I have started a State Parliament petition, calling on Transport Minister and local member for Aspley, Bart Mellish, to degazette the corridor.
You can find and sign that petition here:
The petition closes on April 12, and we will then get a response from the Minister. It will be interesting to see what he has to say.
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