A koala, dozens of possums and a handful of echidnas have reportedly been using a new wildlife tunnel built beneath Toohey Road, on the edge of Toohey Forest near Tarragindi, according to a recent community wildlife update.
Local officials refers to the project officially as the Salisbury/Nathan underpass, with the forest itself bordering Tarragindi and several surrounding suburbs. Construction began in mid-November 2025 and is now largely complete, though council has flagged some minor finishing touches for early 2026. Works were carried out overnight to limit disruption to daytime traffic and nearby residents.
A Crossing Built for the Bush
Picture a concrete pipe, 2.4 metres square, running quietly under the road. Inside it, a log pole frame gives smaller or warier animals a raised route to take instead of picking their way across bare ground. Mulch and bush debris cover the floor, so the tunnel feels less like infrastructure and more like a continuation of the forest itself. Fencing stretches 50 metres out from either side of the entrance, steering animals toward the crossing rather than the road, with small gaps cut in so anything that ends up on the wrong side can still get out safely. Koala refuge poles stand 1.2 metres high at each entrance. If an animal feels exposed mid-crossing, it has somewhere to climb.
Building it wasn’t free of cost to the landscape. Some trees and vegetation came down to make way for the tunnel and its fencing, cleared in consultation with a qualified arborist. Council has committed to replanting native species in their place, chosen to eventually feed and shelter the same wildlife the crossing was built to protect.
What It Meant for the Neighbourhood
Parking was the main headache. A site compound took over part of the Mayne Estate car park for the length of the build, though it remained reachable on foot, and Toohey Picnic Area stayed fully open with parking still available.
One full weekend saw the road closed entirely, from Friday evening to Monday morning, with a signed detour in place. Otherwise, traffic control caused only minor delays. Dust, noise and truck movements increased while work was underway, which is typical for a road-level build of this kind.
Early Signs It’s Working
According to the community wildlife update, motion-triggered cameras placed at the crossing have already picked up encouraging activity: one koala, 29 brushtail possums, five short-beaked echidnas and one red-necked wallaby.
Those figures haven’t been independently verified through an official council or wildlife authority release, but if accurate, they’d mark a solid start for a corridor this new. Wildlife groups generally expect usage to climb further as animals grow familiar with the crossing and begin treating it as part of their regular territory rather than a detour.
Backing the Project
The underpass was funded through the Australian Government’s Saving Koalas Fund, a program aimed at protecting koala habitat across the country. Toohey Forest holds one of the last koala populations in Brisbane’s inner south, alongside possums, echidnas and other native species that call the 260-hectare bushland home.
The project also received backing from local representatives. Councillor Steve Griffiths welcomed the completion of the Toohey Road underpass, highlighting its fauna fencing and gates designed to guide wildlife away from the road and towards the crossing. He also acknowledged Julie-Ann Campbell MP for funding the project, describing the new infrastructure as a way to better connect habitat while improving safety for wildlife and motorists.
Council has described the underpass as one part of a broader effort to protect that population, largely by cutting down the number of animals hurt or killed trying to cross Toohey Road on foot.
Published Date 28-September-2026