Pacific Motorway (Brisbane–Brunswick Heads)

The first section, opened in Brisbane in November 1972, was originally known as the Southeast Freeway.[3] It included the Riverside Expressway which was designed to alleviate traffic congestion in central Brisbane. The Southeast Freeway was connected to the Pacific Highway at Springwood in 1985.[3] The Southeast Freeway was designated originally as the F3, but this nomenclature was removed in 1994.

On 15 April 1996 it was announced that the Pacific Highway between the intersection with the Logan Motorway and Nerang would be upgraded to motorway standard.[4] From the Albert River at Beenleigh to Coombabah Creek at Gaven, about 28 km (17 mi), the road surface is portland cement concrete. The upgraded road was opened to the public in October 2000.[4]

In March 2006, the Queensland Government released planning for substantial changes to the section between Springwood and Daisy Hill, mainly at the entrances and exits along the section to deal with substantial traffic problems on surrounding streets and traffic backups onto the motorway. The planned upgrade led to some popular protest, mainly by people whose homes would be resumed for the project. Construction of the upgrade commenced in November 2009 and was completed in November 2012.[5]

The Tugun Bypass was completed in 2008. It has four lanes (two in each direction in 2008 and provision for six lane widening in the future). Widening from four lanes to six lanes is planned for 2025.[6]

Below is an overview of when each stage of the motorway was completed (from north to south):

• 1960 - Gaven Way. New road connecting Pacific Highway to Nerang, essentially forming the first stage of the Gold Coast bypass route, opened to traffic on 10 December 1960.
• 1961 - Gold Coast Highway interchange. Grade-separated interchange at Gaven Way.
• 1965 - Beenleigh bypass. First carriageway of the Beenleigh bypass opened to traffic in December 1965, followed by the second carriageway in December 1966.[7]
• 1971 - Coomera River bridge duplication. Second bridge across Coomera River officially opened by Minister for Main Roads Ron Camm on 3 June 1971, completing four lanes between Brisbane and Helensvale.[8]
• 1973 - Alice Street to Juliette Street. First stage of the South-East Freeway, including the Captain Cook Bridge, officially opened to traffic on 7 March 1973.[9]
• 1976 - Riverside Expressway. New expressway between Hale Street and Alice Street, mostly constructed on bridges, officially opened on 22 July 1976.[10]
• 1976 - Nerang to Reedy Creek. Reconstructed and realigned highway along the former rail reserve completed in December 1976.[11]
• 1977 - Juliette Street to Marshall Road. Second stage of the South-East Freeway opened between Juliette Street and Marshall Road on 27 July 1977.[12]
• 1979 - Nerang bypass. 2.5 km two-lane bypass of Nerang officially opened by Minister for Main Roads Russ Hinze on 6 April 1979.[13]
• 1980 - Marshall Road to Klumpp Road. Third stage of the South-East Freeway between Marshall Road and Klumpp Road officially opened on 21 October 1980.[14]
• 1982 - Klumpp Road to Logan Road. Fourth stage of the South-East Freeway opened between Klumpp Road and Logan Road by Queensland Premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen on 13 August 1982.[15]
• 1985 - Reedy Creek to Tugun Extension. Two-lane bypass of West Burleigh opened to traffic in three stages; West Burleigh to Palm Beach in October 1981,[11] Reedy Creek to West Burleigh in November 1983,[11] and Palm Beach to Tugun on 17 May 1985.[16]
• 1985 - Helensvale to Nerang duplication. Four-lane duplication works completed between Gold Coast Highway and Nerang River in June 1985.[17]
• 1985 - Tweed Heads bypass. Two-lane bypass opened by Minister for Main Roads and Racing Russ Hinze on 18 July 1985 at a total cost of A$3.6m; second carriageway completed in December 1986.[18]
• 1985 - Logan Road to Compton Road. Fifth and final stage of the South-East Freeway officially opened by Minister for Main Roads and Racing Russ Hinze on 22 November 1985.[17]
• 1986 - Logan River bridge duplication. New concrete bridge across Logan River, duplicating the 1968 bridge, officially opened by Minister for Main Roads and Racing Russ Hinze on 16 July 1986.
• 1987 - Mudgeeraba Interchange. Half-diamond interchange at Mudgeeraba Road opened by Minister for Main Roads and Racing Russ Hinze on 21 August 1987.
• 1987 - Coomera Interchange. Interchange opened by Deputy Premier and Minister for Main Roads Bill Gunn on 10 December 1987.[19]
• 1988 - Worongary Interchange. Half-diamond interchange opened by Deputy Premier and Minister for Main Roads Bill Gunn on 27 July 1988.
• 1989 - Reedy Creek Interchange. Interchange completed in September 1989.
• 1991 - Nerang to Mudgeeraba Duplication. Duplication to four lanes between Pappas Way and Mudgeeraba Road and a new interchange at Elysium Drive opened by Federal Minister for Transport Bob Brown on 23 December 1991.
• 1992 - Helensvale Interchange. Upgraded interchange at Gold Coast Highway opened by Federal Minister for Transport Bob Brown on 29 October 1992.
• 1994 - Mudgeeraba to Reedy Creek duplication. Duplication to four lanes between Mudgeeraba Road and Reedy Creek Road and a new overpass at Reedy Creek Road opened by Minister for Transport David Hamill on 18 May 1994.
• 1994 - Yawalpah Interchange. Diamond interchange at Yawalpah Road opened by MP Paul Braddy on 3 November 1994.
• 1996 - Winnetts Road to Beenleigh-Redland Bay Road six-laning. Widening to six lanes and a new interchange at Beenleigh-Redland Bay Road completed in December 1996.[20]
• 1997 - Reedy Creek to Tugun duplication. Duplication to four lanes between Reedy Creek Road and Stewart Road and a southerly extension of Bermuda Street to the highway opened by Minister for Main Roads Vaughan Johnson on 16 June 1997.[21]
• 2000 - Loganholme to Nerang Upgrade (Pacific Motorway Upgrade). 36 km-long eight-lane upgrade of the Pacific Motorway between Loganholme and Gaven, and six lanes including various interchange and service centre upgrades as well as heralding Queensland's first alphanumeric route number, M1, officially commissioned by Premier Peter Beattie and Minister for Main Roads Steve Bredhauer on 6 October 2000 at a completed cost of A$850m.[22]
• June 2008 - Tugun Bypass. Features a tunnel. Crosses the state border.
• 2012 - Nerang to Worongary Upgrade. Six-lane widening works between Pappas Way and Gooding Drive completed on 25 May 2012.[23]
• 2014 - Worongary to Mudgeeraba Upgrade. Six-lane widening works between Gooding Drive and Robina Town Centre Drive completed on 26 September 2014.[24]
• 2016 - Coomera interchange upgrade. Roundabouts have been replaced by signalised intersections.
• May 2020 - M1/M3 Gateway Merge upgrade. Widening to 5 southbound lanes. A new busway on-ramp.[25]
• June 2020 - Mudgeeraba to Varsity Lakes Upgrade. Widening to six lanes with smart technologies.

Banora Point Upgrade on the Pacific Motorway (looking south)

Barneys Point Bridge over the Tweed River, 2017

The NSW section of the Pacific Motorway to Brunswick Heads is part of the Pacific Highway upgrade from the Queensland border to Ballina. It was renamed to Pacific Motorway from Pacific Highway in February 2013.[26][27]

The motorway was first completed in July 1985 with the opening of first stage of Tweed Heads Bypass, followed by the second stage in November 1992.[28] The most recent addition to the motorway is the Banora Point upgrade which opened in September 2012.[29]

Below is an overview of when each stage of the motorway was completed (from south to north):

There is a fixed speed camera on the Pacific Motorway at Tarragindi, facing northbound. There is another at Loganholme just after the Logan Motorway exit facing northbound.[35] A third set of speed cameras, situated on the northbound side of the motorway at the Smith Street overpass at Gaven, became active around March 2013.[36][37]

Beenleigh to Coolangatta is within the City of Gold Coast. The city has a population of 500,000 and is Australia's sixth-largest city. The oceanside parts of the Gold Coast are characterised by high-rises, residential canal developments, a casino, theme parks, amusement parks and numerous tourist attractions, whilst its inland suburbs are leafy and well kept, looking much like the newer suburbia of other large Australian cities. The Gold Coast attracts tourists from around the world and is one of Australia's leading tourist destinations. Most of the city is bypassed by the Pacific Motorway (M1 Motorway) which continues from Metroad 3 at Logan City south of Brisbane. The former route of the Pacific Highway through the Gold Coast has been renamed as the Gold Coast Highway. The Gold Coast Highway was very congested until the Tugun Bypass opened in June 2008 bypassing a badly traffic snarled section near the Gold Coast Airport.

The highway crosses the Tweed River south of Banora Point. Tweed Heads is the major commercial centre of the southern part of the Gold Coast, which extends as far south as Chinderah in New South Wales. It was known as a "twin town" along with Coolangatta, Queensland before they coalesced with other towns to form the suburbia of the Gold Coast. The Tweed River valley contains the Cudgen Road Tunnel completed in 2002. The tunnel was built to avoid the visual impact of a road cutting.