{"id":86537,"date":"2026-09-03T00:54:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T00:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/86537\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T00:54:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T00:54:10","slug":"no-koalas-spotted-inside-purpose-built-underpass-after-five-months","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/86537\/","title":{"rendered":"No koalas spotted inside purpose-built underpass after five months"},"content":{"rendered":"

Underneath one of south-west Sydney’s busiest roads lies the city’s first koala underpass.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At 52 metres long, the Glen Lorne crossing cost $12 million and was designed to reduce vehicle strikes and deaths for one of the state’s last disease-free koala populations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Transport for NSW estimates around 10,000 vehicles use this section of road each day.<\/p>\n

But since the underpass opened to wildlife five months ago, not a single koala has been recorded using the safe passage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

The Sydney Basin Koala Network says more than 50 koalas have been killed in vehicle strikes along Appin Road since 2022. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

That came as no surprise to environmental researcher and policy analyst Colin Salter, who said studies of underpasses in northern NSW and Queensland found koalas rarely used them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“[These studies] used wildlife cameras within the underpasses themselves as well as outside the structures,” said Dr Salter, who also works as WIRES policy lead.<\/p>\n

“While there are records of koalas using them, there are not many, and they are infrequent \u2026 like one or two detections.<\/p>\n

“But the research has also said that there is not enough data, even though there are repeated results from different studies that show there’s a low use by koalas.”<\/p>\n

\"Man<\/p>\n

Colin Salter says there have been few recorded sightings of koalas using underpasses. (ABC News: Simon Avery)<\/p>\n

In 2022, researchers from the University of Southern Queensland<\/a> spotted only one koala and a handful of native animals using crossings under the Toowoomba bypass throughout a 12-month study using camera traps.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This was similar to Southern Cross University’s 2021 study,<\/a> which detected close to 5,000 medium-to-large mammals and goannas using highway underpasses at Port Macquarie and Grafton.<\/p>\n

Dr Salter said studies showed it could take a “significant period of time” for wildlife to start using new crossing structures.<\/p>\n

Overpasses preferred<\/p>\n

Dr Salter said overpasses were\u00a0a more effective way to protect animals from vehicle strikes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“There appears to be a preference for overpasses as they are wildlife crossing structures that replicate habitat,” he said.<\/p>\n

“There’s research in Australia, but also internationally, which shows this.”<\/p>\n

The NSW government told the ABC it knocked back an early proposal from WIRES to build an overpass at Glen Lorne as additional land clearing would have been required.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dr Salter said although it was a disappointing decision, the underpass could help fill important knowledge gaps.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The [underpass] is the approach the government has adopted, so we just have to hope it’s going to work,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It provides us with a significant opportunity to monitor the movement of animals on either side of the underpass in the adjacent habitat, but also if they are moving towards and through the underpass.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"cameras<\/p>\n

Cameras installed at the underpass will be used to improve koala safety and habitat connectivity. (ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale)<\/p>\n

The box-culvert structure was delivered by developer Stockland, which\u00a0is building the neighbouring 1,700-home Figtree Hill Estate.<\/p>\n

Construction of the crossing was held up while Stockland sought access to Lendlease-owned land on the opposite side of the road<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Sydney Basin Koala Network (SBKN) said BioNet data showed there had been six koala strikes and five deaths during the delay period, which Stockland described as “regrettable”.<\/p>\n

SBKN said 66 koalas have died on Appin Road since July 2022.<\/p>\n

More Appin Road underpasses\u00a0\"one<\/p>\n

Environment Minister Penny Sharpe (centre) describes the completion of the Glen Lorne koala underpass as “historic” and “really important”. (ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale)<\/p>\n

Stockland is now due to build another Appin Road underpass near the Beulah Nature Reserve.\u00a0<\/p>\n

NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said she wanted to avoid the delays that left the Glen Lorne crossing almost a year behind schedule.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Map<\/p>\n

Stockland is to deliver Glen Lorne and Beulah underpasses while the state government will build Ousedale.\u00a0 (Supplied: Transport for NSW)<\/p>\n

“Sometimes delays happen. I still think this is absolutely worth it,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Hopefully the lessons that we have learnt here will see works sped up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand why people are concerned about it as it is a precious koala population.”<\/p>\n

The developer has told the ABC it has secured a land access licence with Lendlease to facilitate Beulah’s delivery and that environmental applications would be lodged in the coming months.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The final Appin Road underpass, Ousedale, is a Transport for NSW project slated for the end of 2027.<\/p>\n

\"Box<\/p>\n

Glen Lorne koala underpass at Noorumba Reserve is supported by around 3km of koala exclusion fencing along both sides of Appin Road. (ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Underneath one of south-west Sydney’s busiest roads lies the city’s first koala underpass.\u00a0 At 52 metres long, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":86538,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[144284,22,21,30560,4368,144282,69049,144285,10575,144283,144281,18853],"class_list":["post-86537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-appin-road-underpass","tag-au","tag-austrlia","tag-beulah","tag-conservation","tag-glen-lorne","tag-koalas","tag-ousedale","tag-stockland","tag-sydney-basin-koala-network","tag-underpass","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}