Average M1 crawl now 28km/h

THE State Government refuses to admit its plan to fix traffic congestion on the Pacific Motorway is failing despite speeds dropping to a 30km/h crawl during peak hour.

The RACQ latest Travel Time report shows speed on both inbound traffic from the Gold Coast during morning peak and outbound to the Glitter Strip at night has slowed by 28 per cent in the past 12 months.

Motorists are driving at an average speed of 28km/h on the M1 outbound between 4-7pm from Herschel south of the Captain Bridge in Brisbane.

During the morning peak the speeds on the section between Paradise Road to south of Underwood Road overpass have dropped to 34km/h, 13km/ h slower than 12 months ago.

The report and the Government’s move to introduce variable speed limits on a motorway with a top speed of 110km/h have put the spotlight in State Parliament on Labor and its traffic congestion policies. St to Cook

The Government tried to change the tide of the argument yesterday, with Transport Minister Mark Bailey and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk attacking the Opposition.

Mr Bailey said: “After not one new dollar was spent on M1 upgrades under the LNP, the (Government) is spending more than $2.3 billion on the M1. That is $2.3 billion more than the LNP.”

Premier Palaszczuk said: “They did not spend any money on the M1 when they were in government.”