<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>After more than two decades of planning, the first stage of the Coomera Connector is set to open to traffic tomorrow morning.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The four-kilometre stretch between Shipper Drive and Helensvale Road, named the M9, provides an alternative route to the M1.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Coomera MP Michael Crandon described the opening as a game-changer for the local community.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-police-crime-satanic-child-abuse-material-ring/b8ab95c4-a1d7-44ec-ae20-753a3e619517" target="_blank"><strong><span>Men charged over involvement in alleged satanic paedophile ring unmasked</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"No more are they gonna have to fight their way through exit 54, just to get home," Crandon said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg said 60,000 vehicles are expected to use the road.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The unveiling of the multibillion-dollar road occurs five weeks after the discovery of cracks in the one-kilometre bridge spanning the Coomera River and Saltwater Creek.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/coomera-connector-opens-two-decades-after-first-promised-gold-coast-queensland-roads-news/5b386644-18ce-4a01-8d84-2dec7c342662" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mickelberg said the cracks ranged from 0.1 of a millimetre to 0.3 of a millimetre.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We've also got remote sensing and monitoring equipment in place to be able to assess the road going forward, but I just want to reassure all road users that this road is safe," Mickelberg said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This initial section is the first of three stages planned for the Coomera Connector.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The central and southern sections are slated to open before the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Planning is currently underway for stage two, which will extend from Shipper Drive to Yawalpah Road and through to Loganholme.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The timeline for the construction of stage two has not been confirmed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King acknowledged the project's scale. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We'll continue to work with the state government on the next parts of the Coomera connector. Stage two is a big, very, very big project," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><span>This article was produced with the assistance of</span></em><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/technology/9express/16480c33-636a-461f-9c4f-d0e2522c722a"><em><span>9ExPress</span></em></a><em><span>.</span></em></div></div>