Taking the landscape and the people seriously: Cooperation leads to multiple safe passages for wildlife in a suburban setting in Brisbane, Australia
Credit: Transurban
The Logan Motorways Case Study (Australia)
Transurban, a multinational toll road operator, proposed a major up-grade of the Gateway Motorway to address projected increases in traffic and associated congestion problems. The motorway is situated along the edge of a major conservation reserve and the upgrade would involve serious impacts on this land. To avoid inevitable conflict, Transurban sought the input of local experts and community groups and together, they designed a comprehensive array of crossing structures. These effectively removed what had been a major barrier and enabled the safe movement of many species not simply over and under the motorway but along a 70-kilometre conservation corridor.
The site was along the intersection of two major roads (M2, Gateway Motorway and M6 Logan Motorway) in southern Brisbane, Australia. The wildlife overpass is located at: -27.640406, 153.059584.
The motorway operator was Transurban, construction was undertaken by GHD and the Environmental Reference Group was made up of representatives of Bulimba Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee, Karawatha Forest Protection Society, Brisbane Intrepid Landcare and Griffith University. Brisbane City Council was also involved. The upgrade of the two motorways, known as the Logan Enhancement Project, was initially proposed in 2015 and construction undertaken between 2017 and 2019.
Landscape Connections Matter
The Flinders-Karawatha Corridor is a series of interconnected or adjacent areas of eucalypt bushland which extends for about 70 kilometres through some of the most densely populated and developed parts of the eastern coast of Australia. It currently supports an extraordinary diversity of wildlife including the endangered and iconic koala. Inevitably, the corridor is crossed by many roads, large and small, which are both a barrier to fauna movements and a serious cause of vehicle-wildlife collision.
One of the largest sections of the corridor is the Karawatha Forest, a conservation reserve of national significance. This reserve is now well known as the site of the Compton Road Fauna Array, one of the most intensively studies series of wildlife crossing structures in the world. These installations allow animals to safely cross the four lanes of Compton Road at the northern end of Karawatha. But a koala or wallaby that tries to travel to the more southern sections of the corridor, will find their way impeded by the physical barrier of two motorways, the Gateway and the Logan, which run north-south and east-west respectively. This has long been recognised as the biggest impediment to wildlife movement up and down the corridor.
When Transurban acquired these two motorways, they realised that the growth of traffic in the region required the addition of new lanes and a series of new, safer on-ramps. Building such features would necessitate the expansion of the road’s footprint and, most significantly, carving off significant parts of Karawatha. Transurban had done their homework, however, and recognised that this would not be well received by local community groups. In particular, the Karawatha Forest Protection Society, has a well-deserved reputation for being thoroughly informed and persistent, qualities that had directly resulted in the world-renowned crossing structures over Compton Road at the top of the reserve.
Making Community Connections
To their credit, Transurban determined that the best way to minimise conflict and perhaps gain community acceptance for the proposed changes to the motorways was to engage directly with those concerns. At an early stage in the planning process, a wide range of community and environmental groups, as well as ecologists from the nearby Griffith University, were invited to form an Environmental Reference Group. This diverse group, representing a wide range of interests and concerns, were included in all aspects of the development of the upgrades. Interactions between the parties were genuine and transparent, and although there were numerous disagreements, effective working relationships were formed.
At the start, however, there were important tensions. Initially, the person Transurban nominated as coordinator of the process was defensive and sceptical and showed little understanding of what was meant by public consultation. After the first few meetings, the Environmental Reference Group met separately and decided to take a different approach. Previously, the group had focussed on specific details, the species to be planted on the overpass, the placement of escape poles, etc., for example. These were of little interest to road engineers and planners; their perspective was big-picture; traffic flow and how to add the new lanes and off-ramps. However, it was also clear that Transurban wanted this project to be a genuine landmark in terms of sustainability and a way to enhance their environmental credentials. Discussions about the providence of plantings seemed irrelevant to such ambitions.
This offered the Environmental Reference Group an ideal opportunity to present the case of how the upgrade of the motorways could make an significant difference at the landscape level. Drawing on the fact that the Compton Road Fauna Array had become internationally recognised, the group argued that providing adequate crossing structures in the best locations would overcome the current barrier effect of the roads and allow the safe movement of wildlife throughout the Flinders-Karawatha Corridor. Properly done, it was argued, the project could be of even greater impact, and gain Transurban significant reputational rewards.
By the conclusion of consultation period, the Environmental Reference Group outlined a series of 12 specific crossing structures and associated actions (including the rehabilitation of degraded streams). The most ambitious suggestion, however, was the construction of a large wildlife overpass over a major feeder road which ran perpendicular to the Gateway Motorway. This would be the single-most important element to the overall plan for allowing free movement of animals. Unfortunately, the only possible site for the overpass was outside the footprint of the motorway, on Brisbane City Council land. Nonetheless, this structure was included in the Environmental Reference Group’s list of suggested inclusions. Although a total of 12 possible proposals were included, in private, it was accepted that even half of these would be a major step toward enhanced permeability of the motorway barrier.
The final act in the preparatory process was for Transurban to seek tenders for the $512 million upgrade. From the multiple bids, two construction companies were selected as potential contenders and both were invited to a presentation on the project by Transurban. The Environmental Reference Group member present at these meetings were astonished to hear the engagement coordinator state that ‘all 12 of the recommendations were now mandatory’. The successful tenderer was obliged to include all measures in their plans. With a single statement, the Logan Enhancement Project became the most significant road ecology project to date in Australia.
The Logan Enhancement Project now includes a major new wildlife overpass (including glider poles), four purpose-designed wildlife underpasses, extensive under-road (viaduct) open passages, numerous dry-cell culverts, several canopy bridges, a large number of escape poles (to enable animals that inadvertently find themselves on the ‘wrong’ side of the exclusion fence) and complete coverage of the site with exclusion fencing.
Of particular significance, and unequivocal evidence of Transurban commitment to this project, was their agreement to meet the cost of the large overpass, even though this was well outside the Logan Enhancement Project’s footprint. This outcome, in itself, significantly raised the standard of expectations for all future developments of this nature.
The one caveat to an otherwise extremely successful project was the failure to secure funding for monitoring of the structures. This was meant to come via a provision in the offset arrangements, activated by the excising of parts of the Karawatha Forest Reserve. The post-construction agreement was that monitoring would be conducted by Griffith University using funds redirected from the offsets provision. Unfortunately, this was never ratified by the State Department of Environment and Science.
Lessons Learnt
The key lesson to be taken from this Case Study was the importance of effective and transparent engagement with the groups most likely to oppose the project. Through respectful but thoroughly informed dialogue, extraordinary success may ensue. An additional lesson was that political interference can undermine even the most successful project.
Author
Darryl Jones, Griffith University
Contact: d.jones@griffith.edu.au
Editor:
Rodney van der Ree
Cite this case study:
Jones, D. (2023). Taking the landscape and the people seriously: Cooperation leads to multiple safe passages for wildlife in a suburban setting in Brisbane, Australia. Edited by van der Ree, R. TransportEcology.info, Accessed at: https://transportecology.info/case-studies/illaweena-overpass
