Sign for Stage 1 of the Coomera Connector on Nerang-Broadbeach Road, June 2026
GUIDEHelensvale · Coomera

Coomera Connector (M9) Status, October 2026: Stage 1 North Is Open, Central and South Are Under Construction, Stage 2 Is in Design (Gold Coast, QLD)

by OZ Local Updates editorial team

At a glance

Checked
18 October 2026, from TMR project pages
Open now
Stage 1 North, Shipper Drive to Helensvale Road, 4km, opened December 2025
Under construction
Stage 1 Central (8km) and Stage 1 South (4km); no opening date on TMR’s pages
Next
Stage 2, Pimpama to Coomera, about 5km, in detailed design
Cost
$3.5 billion for Stage 1
Contact
TMR project line 1800 568 978

Only one section of the Coomera Connector is open to traffic so far: Stage 1 North, the 4km between Shipper Drive at Coomera and Helensvale Road at Helensvale, which opened in December 2025. The other two Stage 1 sections, Central (Helensvale Road to the Smith Street Motorway) and South (Smith Street Motorway to Nerang-Broadbeach Road), are under construction, and the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) pages give no opening date for either.

This guide sums up what TMR says about the Coomera Connector (M9) as of 18 October 2026, from its project pages last updated between 9 and 23 September 2026. Dates and lengths below are TMR’s.

What is the Coomera Connector?

TMR describes the Coomera Connector (M9) as a future 45km north-south motorway between Loganholme and Nerang, east of the Pacific Motorway (M1) and the Gold Coast heavy rail line. It is meant as an alternative to the M1 for the growing communities of the northern Gold Coast and Logan. It is being delivered in stages, and the Stage 1 section between Coomera and Nerang comes first.

A second view of the Coomera Connector Stage 1 sign on Nerang-Broadbeach Road, June 2026
A second view of the Coomera Connector Stage 1 sign on Nerang-Broadbeach Road, June 2026. The sign reads “Progressively open from 2025” (photo: Totallynotarandomalt69 / CC BY 4.0)

Which parts are open now, and which are not?

TMR’s Stage 1 page says Stage 1 is around 16km and is being built in three packages:

Package Between Length Status (TMR) Main works started
Stage 1 North Shipper Drive, Coomera, and Helensvale Road, Helensvale 4km Open to traffic (December 2025) March 2023
Stage 1 Central Helensvale Road, Helensvale, and the Smith Street Motorway, Molendinar 8km Under construction September 2024
Stage 1 South Smith Street Motorway, Molendinar, and Nerang-Broadbeach Road, Nerang 4km Under construction June 2025

That means a driver can use the connector between Coomera and Helensvale today, but cannot yet drive it all the way to Nerang. The Central and South pages say “construction is underway” and list no completion date, so any date you see elsewhere is not on TMR’s project pages.

What does Stage 1 North look like?

TMR’s Stage 1 North page lists these features of the open section:

  • 4 lanes, with provision for future widening to 6 lanes in the centre median, and bridges built to 6 lanes
  • interchanges at Shipper Drive and Helensvale Road
  • an almost 1km-long bridge over the Coomera River and Saltwater Creek
  • more than 4km of walking and bike riding path, with connections at Shipper Drive, McPhail Road, Monterey Keys Drive, Rosswood Court and Helensvale Road
  • upgrades to a section of Foxwell Road and a section of Shipper Drive, which is now known as the Coomera Link Road
The Coomera River at Coomera Island (photographed in 2020)
The Coomera River at Coomera Island, photographed in 2020. This is the river the Stage 1 North bridge crosses; the photo is not of the bridge (photo: Kgbo / CC BY-SA 4.0)

What is Stage 1 Central building?

The Stage 1 Central page describes the 8km section as 6 lanes from Helensvale Road to the Smith Street Motorway, with grade-separated interchanges at the Gold Coast Highway and the Smith Street Motorway. It also lists more than 8km of walking and bike riding path connecting with the Helensvale and Parkwood light rail stations, wildlife corridors for Careel Reserve and Coombabah Creek, and an open graded asphalt surface for safety and reduced noise. TMR’s milestones for Central are the early works agreement in January 2023, design released for public consultation in March 2024, and the main construction contract awarded in September 2024, with works underway.

Helensvale railway station, June 2026
Helensvale railway station, June 2026. TMR says the Central path will connect with the Helensvale and Parkwood light rail stations (photo: Totallynotarandomalt69 / CC BY 4.0)

What is Stage 1 South building?

The Stage 1 South page lists a grade-separated interchange at Southport-Nerang Road, a new intersection at Nerang-Broadbeach Road, a new 300m bridge over the Nerang River, and 4km of shared path with connections for Molendinar and Nerang. TMR gives the main works contract as awarded in March 2025, with construction starting in June 2025.

The Pacific Motorway southbound at the exit to the Smith Street Motorway (photographed in 2018)
The Pacific Motorway southbound at the exit to the Smith Street Motorway, photographed in 2018. The Smith Street Motorway is where the Central and South packages meet (photo: Coolcaesar / CC BY-SA 4.0)

How many lanes and interchanges will Stage 1 have?

Across the whole 16km, TMR lists 2 lanes in each direction on the North and South packages and 3 lanes in each direction on the Central package. It lists 4 new interchanges (Helensvale Road, Gold Coast Highway, Smith Street Motorway and Southport-Nerang Road), 2 new intersections (Shipper Drive and Nerang-Broadbeach Road), 2 new bridges over the Coomera and Nerang rivers, and a 16km path alongside. The corridor is wide enough for an ultimate 6-lane motorway. The route is officially named and signed as the Coomera Connector (M9) Motorway, and interchange exit numbers will increase as the route extends south to Nerang.

What does it cost, and who pays?

TMR gives the total investment for Stage 1 as $3.5 billion, split $1.750 billion from the Australian Government and $1.750 billion from the Queensland Government. The Central and South pages add that funding contributions are subject to further negotiation with the Australian Government.

What comes after Stage 1?

TMR says Stage 2, from Pimpama to Coomera, is around 5km and is the next priority section for planning and design. It would connect to Stage 1 at Shipper Drive and, with Stage 1, give a continuous 21km motorway and active transport corridor between Pimpama and Nerang. TMR lists connections to the local road network at Foxwell Road and Yawalpah Road, and says the status is detailed design. It also says the Queensland Government has allocated funding towards planning and design, while funding for delivery will be considered by both governments in due course.

The remaining “future stages”, from Loganholme to Coomera, cover around 29km, with 8 new interchanges and additional bridge crossings of the Logan and Albert rivers. TMR says the business case was completed in March 2024 and is under review by Infrastructure Australia, and that the decision to proceed, and its timing, is at the discretion of the Australian and Queensland governments.

How long has the corridor been planned?

TMR says the corridor has appeared in public planning documents since the 1990s, and that a joint 2015 study by the Queensland Government and City of Gold Coast confirmed it as a future strategic transport link. The corridor was formally declared a future state-controlled road in three sections: Nerang to Coomera on 18 March 2016, Coomera to Stapylton on 12 May 2017 and Stapylton to Loganholme on 15 March 2019. The changed alignment in Coomera and Eagleby was re-gazetted on 27 June 2025.

What did the community say?

TMR says initial consultation on the whole corridor was held in late 2019, with 10 community drop-in sessions along the 45km corridor and online activities. It reports 3200 visits to the website, more than 2000 people at the sessions, 700 pieces of feedback and a telephone survey of 1000 residents and businesses in which 4 out of 5 people in the corridor area supported the Coomera Connector. Consultation on the Stage 1 packages followed in March 2023 (North), November 2023 (South), March 2024 (Central) and March 2025 (the Stage 1 corridor).

Will the works affect trams and trains?

Yes, in one case we have covered: Translink has attributed evening replacement buses between Helensvale and Gold Coast University Hospital stations to Coomera Connector Stage 1 construction works. Our guide to the October G:link evening closures has the dates and the replacement bus stops.

Parkwood East light rail station on the Gold Coast
Parkwood East light rail station on the Gold Coast (photo: Reubot / CC BY-SA 4.0). Parkwood East light rail station, one of the four stations covered by the evening closures

Where can I get updates?

TMR runs a project contact line on 1800 568 978 and an email subscription for each stage, linked from the Coomera Connector page. TMR’s Stage 1 pages carry map booklets dated March 2025, which show the exit names and numbers for Stage 1. The Stage 1 North page also lists fact sheets on the Helensvale Road interchange, on Shipper Drive and Foxwell Road (the Coomera Link Road), and on Hope Island train station.

Sources

Featured image: sign for Coomera Connector Stage 1 on Nerang-Broadbeach Road, June 2026 (photo: Totallynotarandomalt69 / CC BY 4.0) (text added)

OZ Local Updates is an independent local guide and is not affiliated with the Department of Transport and Main Roads or Translink. Project dates and status can change; check TMR’s project pages before you plan a trip.