21 Sep 2019 - IRTC History

A piece of history of that transport corridor. The IRTC was not meant to be another motorway to get to Brisbane - it did not have sections in the north and south and it was off the plans between 2013-2015:
"The road, formerly known as the intra-regional transport corridor (IRTC), has long been part of the state government’s future plans but was dumped by the former Newman government in 2013 against the wishes of the Gold Coast City Council.
The project was restored in 2015 when the Palaszczuk government gazetted the Nerang to Coomera section of the road in March 2016 and the Coomera Stapylton section in May 2017."
"The origins of the Coomera Connector/IRTC are from the so-called 'Koala Tollway', which was proposed by the Goss Government in the mid-90s. This would have continued north across the Logan River, through Cornubia (roughly near West Mount Cotton Road) and Priestdale (near Ford Road) and connecting to the Gateway Motorway at Rochedale (on land which has since been developed into the Rochedale Estates).
The Goss government lost significant support due to the proposal, including every seat along the corridor (Mansfield, Springwood, Redlands, and Albert). The Goss government narrowly won the election (Labor 45, LNP 43, Ind 1), however following a by-election for Mundingburra, which the LNP won, and with the support of independent Liz Cunningham, the Coalition took power under Rob Borbidge in 1996. They then enacted their policy of widening and upgrading the existing Pacific Highway into the M1 Pacific Motorway, which opened in 2000.
The Koala tollway was considered so toxic that the corridor was abandoned north of Stapylton, however the southern portion was retained. This latest gazettal is simply an extension of that corridor."
Source: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=157532396