Major highway improvement works are being proposed for Queensland, Australia. The aim of the work will be to reduce congestion along a 4km stretch of highway that suffers long delays during peak periods at present. Some US$129.5 million (A$168 million) of federal funding will has been proposed to widen the highway connecting the Gold Coast with Queensland capital Brisbane, with work possibly starting in 2017. However the project hangs in the balance and depends on the results of an upcoming election process.
Queensland’s State Government has already allocated funds to construct for two additional southbound lanes at Eight Mile Plains, south of Brisbane, where the M1 connects with the M3. The road improvement project is set to be a major issue for south-east Queensland voters in the upcoming election.