In 1965 American consultant Wilbur Smith, recommended an extensive freeway system for Brisbane, with the first section of the South East Freeway opening in 1973. Even more dramatically, the opening of the Gateway Bridge in 1986 created a direct link between the Gold and Sunshine Coasts, bypassing the Brisbane CBD.

The Gateway Bridge, together with the widened Pacific Motorway (opened in 2000) and the widened Bruce Highway, is one of the key road links in the 200km City. The proposed Tugun Bypass will extend this freeway link over the New South Wales border. However, other parts of the system, such as the Sunshine Motorway and the Ipswich Motorway remain inadequate for existing, let alone predicted, car and truck traffic.