M1 Pacific Motorway on the Gold Coast, October 2026: No Long-Running Roadworks Listed on the M1, but the Smith Street Off Ramp Is Closed to Early 2027 (Gold Coast, QLD)

On 18 October 2026, the Queensland Government’s QLDTraffic feed listed no roadworks on the M1 Pacific Motorway itself on the Gold Coast, so there are no long-running M1 works to plan around. The long-running works are on roads that connect to it: the eastbound access ramp to Smith Street from the Smith Street Motorway at Arundel is closed to all traffic until early 2027, and the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) lists the M1’s next interchange projects as planning or design.

This guide uses “long-running” to mean roadworks listed for more than 120 days. The roadworks details are from the QLDTraffic feed as we read it on 18 October 2026, and the M1 project statuses are from TMR’s project pages, where the interchange page was last updated on 17 August 2026 and some pages show no date. QLDTraffic events change daily.

Are there roadworks on the M1 on the Gold Coast right now?

Not in the feed. We pulled every QLDTraffic event within the Gold Coast area and none was recorded under a Pacific Motorway or M1 road name. The feed did list 31 roadworks events in the area, mostly on local roads and the Gold Coast Highway, and those listed for more than 120 days are in the table below and the lists after it. That is a snapshot of one day, so check the live map before you drive.

Which long-running works are on roads that connect to the M1?

Where	What QLDTraffic says	Dates
Eastbound access ramp to Smith Street from the Smith Street Motorway, Arundel	Road closed to all traffic. Temporary long-term closure until early 2027. Detour via Olsen Avenue and the Smith Street Motorway interchange. An alternative is the M1 and Gold Coast Highway interchange (Exit 62)	6 January 2026 to 31 January 2027
Smith Street, Parkwood, eastbound between Kingston Drive and Napper Road	Temporary long-term lane closure and reduced speed limits	13 August 2026 to 4 February 2027
Napper Road, Parkwood, northbound between Greenacre Drive and Smith Street	Long-term lane closure until the project’s completion	10 August 2025 to 23 December 2026
Gold Coast Highway, Helensvale, between Discovery Drive and Buckler Drive	Reduced speed limit of 40km/h, Monday to Saturday, 6am to 6pm	17 September 2026 to 31 January 2027
Buckler Drive, Helensvale	Road closed to all traffic on the section from the Gold Coast Highway to the Helensvale light rail station eastern park ‘n’ ride car parks. Vehicle access to those car parks is via a new “egg-about” linking to the reopened Town Centre Drive bridge	17 August 2026 to 31 March 2028
Southport-Nerang Road, Molendinar, between Herbertson Road and Old Coach Road	Temporary road alignment, 40km/h, intermittent weekday daytime single lane closures between 10am and 2pm, and intermittent night closures between 6pm and 5am	9 September 2026 to 31 December 2027
Goldmine Road, Ormeau, from Lahrs Road to Rivervale Street	Goldmine Road upgrade. Standard work hours Monday to Saturday, 6am to 6pm, with single lane closures. Night works may be needed at times	2 March 2026 to 30 April 2027
Gold Coast-Springbrook Road, Neranwood to Springbrook	Restoration works for damage from the 2023 Christmas storms, 40km/h, with 24/7 closures at multiple sites	11 May 2026 to 31 October 2026
Burleigh Connection Road, Dunlin Drive and Tabilban Street, Burleigh Heads	Public transport bus infrastructure project, with a bus stop upgrade and day and night works	6 July 2026 to 30 December 2026
Transit Way, Varsity Lakes (Varsity Lakes train station)	Public transport bus infrastructure works to upgrade a bus stop	7 July 2026 to 30 December 2026
Currumbin Creek Road and Bienvenue Drive, Currumbin Waters	Energy Queensland powerpole relocation, with road shoulder closures. QLDTraffic lists night works Sunday to Friday, 6pm to 6am, but its notes say night works from 9 August for 4 weeks, so the night works dates may be out of date	9 July 2026 to 31 December 2026

The Buckler Drive entry links to TMR’s Coomera Connector Stage 1 Central page, so those works are connected to that project. Our Coomera Connector status guide has the stage dates. The Smith Street Motorway ramp entry does not name a project in the feed.

What else is closed around Helensvale and Mudgeeraba?

Three more long-running entries in the feed are worth knowing, even though none is on the M1:

• Cyan Street, Helensvale: the left turn from Cyan Street to Buckler Drive is closed to all road users from 17 August 2026 until late 2027 (the feed gives 31 December 2027).
• Ridgevale Drive, Helensvale: between the Queensland Rail bridge and Gippsland Drive, the Ridgevale Drive bridge was closed to motorists from midnight on Sunday 30 August 2026 for up to twelve months for bridge construction. Motorists reach The Shores via a two-way vehicle access along the Coomera Connector corridor from Gippsland Drive to a new signalised intersection at the Gold Coast Highway.
• Gold Coast-Springbrook Road, Mudgeeraba: the Mudgeeraba Creek Causeway is being replaced with a higher structure, with a 40km/h limit, from 23 February 2026 to 26 February 2027. The feed says the causeway was damaged in heavy rainfall from Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred in March 2025, and that the new box culverts will be about 2.5 metres higher than the current structure.

What if I normally use the Smith Street ramp?

QLDTraffic marks the closure of the eastbound access ramp to Smith Street from the Smith Street Motorway as high priority, with “use alternative route” as its advice and delays expected during active hours. The two routes in the feed are the Olsen Avenue and Smith Street Motorway interchange detour, and the Pacific Motorway (M1) and Gold Coast Highway interchange at Exit 62. The feed lists no project name or reason for the closure.

What has TMR finished on the M1?

TMR’s Pacific Motorway M1 upgrade program page lists these Gold Coast-area projects as completed: Varsity Lakes to Tugun (Exit 85 to 95), Mudgeeraba to Varsity Lakes, Mudgeeraba to Robina, Worongary to Mudgeeraba, Logan Motorway to Palm Beach, Pimpama interchange (Exit 49), Yatala South interchange (Exit 41) and the Ormeau interchange (Exit 45) southbound off-ramp.

Two of those have project pages with dates:

• Varsity Lakes to Tugun: a $1.5 billion project to upgrade 10km of the M1, completed in November 2025. Package A (Varsity Lakes, Exit 85, to Burleigh, Exit 87) was completed in late 2022, and packages B (Burleigh to Palm Beach, Nineteenth Avenue) and C (Palm Beach to Tugun, Exit 95) in 2025. TMR says the M1 was widened from 2 to a minimum of 3 lanes in both directions, with ramps extended at all interchanges and significant improvements at Burleigh (Exit 87), Tallebudgera (Exit 89) and Palm Beach (Exit 92).
• Pimpama interchange (Exit 49): construction started in August 2022 and finished in February 2025, at a cost of $140.768 million. TMR lists a new bridge across the M1, signalised intersections in place of roundabouts, relocated ramps and pedestrian and cyclist connections across the motorway.

What is planned for the M1 interchanges?

TMR’s M1 interchange upgrades page, last updated 17 August 2026, says ongoing industrial and residential growth in the northern Gold Coast is increasing pressure on several M1 interchanges, particularly around Yatala, Ormeau and Pimpama. It lists the status of each:

Interchange	Status (TMR)
Exit 38 (Yatala North)	Business case approved in November 2018
Exit 41 (Yatala South)	Completed
Exit 45 (Ormeau), southbound off-ramp improvements	Completed
Exit 45 (Ormeau)	In design
Exit 49 (Pimpama)	Completed
Exit 54 (Coomera)	Planning
Exit 82 (Robina)	Planning

What is proposed at Ormeau?

TMR’s Exit 45 (North) Ormeau page says the interchange is experiencing heavy congestion as Ormeau and Pimpama grow. The proposed upgrade would add a new 3-lane bridge directly south of the existing bridge for westbound traffic, widen the existing 2-lane bridge to three lanes for eastbound traffic, replace roundabouts with signalised intersections, move the northbound on-ramp on Orange Mountain Road away from the interchange and improve walking and bike riding connections across the M1. The page gives detailed design as expected to be complete in mid-2027 and says delivery is subject to further project development and funding negotiation with the Australian Government. The page still shows 2025 milestones, including a business case due in December 2025 and a community session on 22 November 2025, and does not report whether the business case was finished.

Where can I check before I drive?

The QLDTraffic website and app carry the live roadworks events used in this guide. For the interchange projects, TMR’s interchange page lists (07) 5563 6600 as the contact number, and each project page has a subscription form for updates.

Sources

• Queensland Government QLDTraffic events feed (api.qldtraffic.qld.gov.au), read 18 October 2026; events shown on qldtraffic.qld.gov.au
• TMR — Pacific Motorway M1 upgrade program (checked 18 October 2026)
• TMR — Pacific Motorway M1 interchange upgrades (last updated 17 August 2026)
• TMR — M1 Pacific Motorway, Exit 45 (North) Ormeau
• TMR — Pacific Motorway M1 Varsity Lakes to Tugun upgrade
• TMR — Pacific Motorway, Exit 49, upgrade interchange

Featured image: the Smith Street Motorway eastbound at the exit to Olsen Avenue, photographed in 2018 (photo: Coolcaesar / CC BY-SA 4.0) (text added)

OZ Local Updates is an independent local guide and is not affiliated with the Department of Transport and Main Roads or the Queensland Government. Roadworks change daily; check QLDTraffic before you travel.