Media Release: M1 Motorway upgrades to ease Queensland congestion

The Turnbull Government is acting to provide critical upgrades to the M1 Motorway to deliver safer, less congested roads for the people of Queensland.

The $1 billion investment will mean people spend less time in traffic and more time with their families, improving the quality of life for residents of South-East Queensland.

The Government is committing $1 billion for the construction of two high-priority upgrade projects – one between Varsity Lakes and Tugun on the Gold Coast end of the M1 Corridor, the other between Eight Mile Plains and Daisy Hill within the Brisbane urban area.

Consistent with other major infrastructure projects in urban areas, the Turnbull Government will make this commitment based on a 50:50 funding share arrangement with the Queensland Government for both projects.

The Varsity Lakes to Tugun project is expected to include widening of both the north and southbound carriageways to six lanes, a direct northbound off-ramp from the M1 to Southport – Burleigh Road, ramp upgrades with ramp controls, auxiliary lanes, pavement reconstruction works and better cycling and walking connections between centres.

The Eight Mile Plains to Daisy Hill project is expected to include widening the motorway from six to eight lanes, ramp consolidation, managed motorways technology, extending the busway to Springwood, supporting bus priority south of Springwood and better active transport connections between centres.

The M1 is one of the most important and heavily congested routes in Queensland with nearly 30 million tonnes of freight moving between New South Wales and Queensland each year and between 50,000 and 155,000 vehicles per day using sections of the M1 from Springwood to Tugun.

Investing in priority upgrades is critical to keep Queensland moving by reducing congestion and supporting future traffic demand.

These upgrades will help people get home sooner and safer. We are funding the roads that the people of South-East Queensland need, and we are doing that because of our careful budget management.

This work will ease congestion and improve safety, future-proofing the corridor against growing traffic demands.

It follows the strong advocacy of local Liberal National Party Members Bert van Manen, Karen Andrews and Ross Vasta who have fought for these upgrades to benefit their communities.

The Turnbull Government has previously committed funding to two projects on the M1 which are scheduled to commence construction in coming weeks: $115 million for the M1 Pacific Motorway – Gateway Merge and $110 million for the M1 Pacific Motorway – Mudgeeraba to Varsity Lakes project. Both of the projects that we’re committing to today will complement these two existing commitments.

The Turnbull Government looks forward to seeing detailed business cases from the Queensland Government provided to Infrastructure Australia, so that we can release this funding and get work underway on the two new projects as soon as possible.