M1 Tugun tunnel overheight issue fixed

TRANSPORT for NSW has installed new technology and truck-turning areas at the Tugun bypass tunnel on the M1, alleviating an ongoing problem for heavy vehicle operators. Transport for NSW and Transport and Main Roads Queensland (TMRQ) carried out the work over the last two years during the quarterly maintenance tunnel closures, and the additions are now fully functional.

Previously, some overheight vehicles have found themselves stuck at the northbound or southbound tunnel entrances. Approaching the tunnel from the north, if a driver missed a height warning sign, they had to reverse four kilometres up the motorway before being able to turn around.

The completed project has improved advance warning for drivers of overheight vehicles and installed new turning areas closer to the tunnel entries. This has resulted in a much shorter distance for drivers to reverse if crossing the highway was needed.

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Jenny Aitchison said government investment meant vehicles could turn close to the tunnel entrance and that new warnings meant they never needed to reach it.

“But if they did, they could be turned around with help from the Tugun incident response officer or a single police officer,” she said.

“The time and cost savings from this change are enormous, and it will mean the lengthy delays when an over-height vehicle inadvertently enters the tunnel are a thing of the past.

“Transport for NSW put in new overheight detection systems to notify staff of a vehicle approaching the tunnel, so they can immediately activate variable speed limit signs to stop them from reaching the tunnel.

“We’ve also installed five new advance warning signs and new traffic lights just short of where we’ve put in new heavy vehicle crossovers,” Aitchison said.

Transport for NSW and TMRQ, along with the police forces of the two states, worked together to resolve the situation.

“The Tugun tunnel goes underneath the Coolangatta Airport, with the southern end of the tunnel in NSW and the northern end in Queensland,” Aitchison said.

“The project has improved advance warning technology as well as the infrastructure.

“We had a great collaboration with the Queensland authorities to get the work done,” she said.