Commercial vehicles to get free trial period on AirportlinkM7

AirportlinkM7, a 6.7km toll road and tunnel, will open in a few weeks and will service more than 60% ofBrisbane’s population by providing the first major motorway link between the CBD, northern suburbs and airport precinct.

Dr Ray Wilson, CEO of BrisConnections, operator of the $5.6 billion road project, said AirportlinkM7 was a vital road link that would help ease traffic congestion and its associated operating constraints for businesses, which Brisbane City Council estimated in 2010 to be costing the city $1.3 billion a year in productivity losses.

“AirportlinkM7 will result in faster, safer and more reliable trips for businesses and fleets by cutting out up multiple sets of traffic lights and providing travel time savings of up to 20 minutes in peak hour,” Dr Wilson said.

“For a business operating a fleet this means greater productivity, more reliable scheduling and better customer service which can reflect positively on a business’s bottom line.”

AirportlinkM7 will be free for all motorists, including commercial operators, for the first month, with an additional two months toll free for all vehicles with a tag or account with any Australian toll road.

“We want to offer commercial industry the chance to grow familiar with using this new piece of infrastructure and to see first-hand the benefits it will deliver to their day to day operations and bottom line,” Dr Wilson said.

Dr Wilson said the gradual toll increase would give businesses ample opportunity to gauge the positive impact AirportlinkM7 would have on productivity.

AirportlinkM7 will also service the increase in road freight movements out of the Australia TradeCoast, one of the fastest-growing trade and industry regions in the country.

Road freight movements for the Australia TradeCoast are expected to increase by as much as 97% by 2026.