FAQs

The 2017 Tweed Road Development Strategy identified the upgrade of Tweed Coast Road between the Pacific Motorway (M1) at Chinderah and Casuarina Town Centre (Grand Parade) as a key arterial road project for the Tweed.

The widening of this road to a 4 lane configuration will achieve future traffic capacity and improve safety for residents, businesses and tourists who use Tweed Coast Road to access the Tweed Coast townships of Kingscliff, Cudgen, Casuarina, Cabarita, Bogangar, Hastings Point and Pottsville.

Importantly, there is a significant growth forecast for this area, including the new Tweed Valley Hospital at Kingscliff and new urban land releases at West Kingscliff and Kings Forest which will deliver housing, recreation and employment for about 15,000 new people over the next 30 years.

For Tweed Coast Road sections 5 and 6, a Review of Environmental Factors (REF) has been carried out. In addition, a portion of section 5 required an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) due to a 250-metre section of the proposed works being located within a mapped coastal wetland area between Crescent Street and Cudgen Road.

These assessments helped identify potential environmental impacts and ensure they are properly managed. The draft REF was prepared for works outside the mapped coastal wetland area and the EIS was prepared for works within the coastal wetland area. 

There has also been a location inspection of the work area to identity the presence of a snail species. This has involved 6 nocturnal inspections with a report from SEE Civil to come to Council over the results. 

To learn more, visit yoursaytweed.com.au/tweed-coast-road-eis.

The reasons that Tweed Coast Road will not be raised include:

• Hydraulic flood modelling of the Tweed River catchment has identified that the area south and east of the Pacific Motorway would be flooded at a consistent, flat-water level. This is because the major flooding in the region is a result of backwater flooding from the Tweed River. Due to the backwater nature of the inundation, flow velocities of the water are low. The area is not a major flow path but does contribute to the overall flood storage of the river system. Raising Tweed Coast Road to provide flood-free access would potentially stop floodwaters from reaching flood storage areas, resulting in increased flood levels elsewhere.
• The Pacific Motorway is also flood liable at Chinderah, so in major flood events there will be a loss of road connection on either side of the Tweed River regardless of the level of Tweed Coast Road.
• There is generally sufficient warning of predicted floods for residents of Chinderah and Fingal, who have access to evacuation routes via Tweed Coast Road before it becomes inundated, and also Wommin Bay Road and Waugh Street, to reach higher ground and evacuation centres such as the Kingscliff TAFE.
• The proposed Tweed Valley Hospital Site at Kingscliff can be accessed by road from various locations across the shire in flood times. It is acknowledged that it would be isolated from Tweed Heads (and south and west Tweed Heads), Banora Point and Terranora. However, these areas could be serviced by Queensland hospitals in emergency situations.

The provisions for cyclists and pedestrians for Tweed Coast Road will be delivered as per the Austroads Design Guide. 

For the unkerbed sections of the road, 2.5 metre wide asphalt sealed shoulders are included for cyclists and pedestrians. 

The kerbed sections, for example the Cudgen and Tweed Coast roads intersection, will have a 2 metre wide shared concrete path.

Transport for NSW is the agency authorised to set and administer the speed zones on all roads in NSW. This includes state, regional and local roads.

Tweed Coast Road currently has a mix of 60 km/h and 80 km/h speed limits along the sections that will be upgraded. As part of the design process, Council will apply to Transport for NSW to set the appropriate speed limit to be imposed on each section.

As a guide, where new intersections within Tweed Coast Road are required for access to new development areas (eg Turnock Street extension, Depot Road) it’s likely that speed limits will be reduced from the current 80 km/h to 60 km/h.

Design details for the intersections will be submitted by the developers to Council for approval. Once final plans have been approved by Council, Transport for NSW will undertake a review of existing speed zonings. Any recommended changes to speed zonings would be forwarded to Council to arrange for the installation of signs and road markings.

A noise study has been completed as part of the Environmental Assessment. Noise mitigation measures recommended by the report will be discussed with affected property owners and implemented as part of the road construction works.

We have already distributed Letters of Intent to all businesses and selected residences along sections 5 & 6 of Tweed Coast Road advising of what works are planned. 

We have made numerous social media posts on speed reductions during inspection stages of works and have indicated that during construction, these reductions will also be in place. 

We have had face-to-face meeting with the executive of the Tweed Valley Hospital to adviser them of the works planned and that we will be providing them with updates for their staff newsletters at significant stages of the project. 

We are also finalising an alert system for anyone who voluntarily subscribes which will send out alerts should there be a sudden traffic disruption due to construction or other unforeseen issues. 

A Planned Works Notification will be distributed once finalised dates of commencement are confirmed.

Council has consulted on a regular basis with representatives from Tweed Valley South Sea Islander Communities Inc and Tweed Gold Coast Australian South Sea Islander Community on a range of matters including reviews of draft landscaping plans around the heritage-listed South Sea Islander burial grounds at Chinderah. 

Located in front of Chinderah Golf, the site holds deep cultural significance. A specialist landscaping company has been engaged to deliver a landscape concept plan in consultation with South Sea Islander (SSI) community representatives to ensure the burial grounds are respected and recognised as a place of regional cultural heritage and will be able support community commemoration and reflection while upgrading one of the Tweed’s busiest road corridors. 

Council and contractors SEE Civil are working with the South Sea Islander community on gathering and preserving artifacts which may be uncovered during earthworks near the former Cudgen sugar mills site, just to the north of the Cudgen Road, Tweed Coast Road intersection.