The business case involves widening the M1 Pacific Motorway from four to six lanes in each direction, constructing a northbound off ramp from the M1 to Southport – Burleigh Road, upgrading on and off ramps, and upgrading cycling and pedestrian access.

M1 Pacific Motorway capacity between Eight Mile Plains and Tugun was previously included as a High Priority Initiative on the Infrastructure Priority List.

The business case was accepted for Infrastructure Australia's assessment on 15 January, 2019.

On 13 June, 2019, the Queensland Government's business case was positively assessed by Infrastructure Australia, and was added to the Infrastructure Priority List as a Priority Project.

The project will provide additional capacity on the motorway by widening both directions of the road between Varsity Lakes Interchange (Exit 85) and Tugun Interchange (Exit 95) from four lanes to six lanes and upgrading the majority of interchanges. The project also proposes to implement managed motorways technology between Nerang and Tugun, and realign the motorway between Bermuda Street and Tsipura Drive (Burleigh Heads).

The additional capacity created by the project will lead to travel time savings for users and reliability improvements. Furthermore, the project has strategic merit given it will improve the reliability and capacity of the National Land Transport Network in South East Queensland, providing improved accessibility for regional traffic and freight. 

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