The Honourable Paul Lucas
19/05/2008
Land resumptions finalised as tunnel route announced
Improved road connections and tunnel alignments under the winning designs for Airport Link and the Northern Busway (Windsor to Kedron) mean the State Government will have to resume an extra 35 surface properties on top of those already announced.
Deputy Premier Paul Lucas and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning said a total of 211 surface properties were required for the two massive projects, which will start construction later this year.
"We've already acquired more than half of the properties we need for the projects," Mr Lucas said.
"But the improvements of the winning design mean we have to acquire some extra properties."
Mr Lucas said all of the newly affected properties were inside the study corridor, which had been investigated since 2005.
"The owners of these homes and businesses have been informed today and I know this has come as a blow to them as they initially thought they were not affected," Mr Lucas said.
"People and businesses do not have to relocate straight away and will generally have more than six months to find alternative accommodation."
The additional properties include 25 residential properties comprising 16 in Kedron (nine houses, eight units and a vacant block of land), five in Windsor, three in Lutwyche and one in Clayfield.
There are also three residential properties (one in Kedron and two in Clayfield) where only part of the land is being resumed.
Only six of the residential properties are owner-occupied.
Six commercial properties - five in Windsor and one in Kedron - are being resumed along with part of a commercial property in Herston.
Because Airport Link and the Northern Busway (Windsor to Kedron) will be mostly underground, 384 below-ground titles will also be required, including 238 properties not previously affected. The below-ground titles of 165 properties which were required under the original design will no longer be needed.
"People will be compensated for the loss of this below-ground title," Mr Lucas said.
More than half the surface properties needed have been acquired voluntarily, with the owners of 109 properties taking up the State's offer to buy their land since negotiations began in March 2006.
"Because both roads will be mostly underground we have been able to keep property resumptions to a minimum but unfortunately there are some properties that we need for surface connections and tunnel worksites," Mr Lucas said.
"However, I want to reassure the owners that they will receive fair and proper compensation."
Mr Lucas said the construction of a fly-over above the airport roundabout and replacement of the Airport Drive roundabout would impact on a number of businesses. Eight commercial properties in Hendra will be directly impacted with three partially affected.
Airport Link will connect the North-South Bypass Tunnel, Inner City Bypass and local road network at Bowen Hills to the northern arterials of Gympie Road and Stafford Road at Kedron and Sandgate Road and the East-West Arterial in the north-east.
Opening in 2012, Airport Link will be Brisbane's second tolled road tunnel, following on from the North-South Bypass Tunnel, currently under construction.
The Northern Busway, when completed, will connect the Inner Northern Busway at Herston to Bracken Ridge via Windsor, Lutwyche, Kedron, Chermside and Aspley.
Media inquiries: Robert Hoge 0419 757 868==============================================================
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