APPROVAL for planning works on an M1 upgrade could be given within the month according to the politician spearheading a new campaign to fix the motorway.
Forde MP Bert van Manen joined representatives from the state and local governments, local chamber of commerce groups and other community organisations to form the Fix the M1 taskforce last Wednesday.
The group will campaign for improvements to the M1 bottleneck between the Logan and Gateway Motorways, with its first priority to secure funding for $20 million of planning works.
"I would like to think we would have an answer on (a planning approval) by the middle of August," Mr van Manen said.
"Then we've got to wait for the planning to be done, which would probably be another six months but in that timeframe I am going to continue to lobby for the full funding of the project which is in the order of $1 billion."
Mr van Manen said improving gridlock on the M1 had been a priority of his since before he was elected.
He said works to fix the issue were delayed due to a lack of funding requests but forward by previous state governments.
"Any project that requires more than $100 million of federal funding requires a business case," he said.
"No formal request had ever been put in by the previous state governments but the new state government now has put in a formal request.
"I'll be following that up with the ministers office in the next week or so and we'll go from there."
He said he was confident funding could be secured "in due course".
"It needs to happen in time for the Commonwealth Games and that's a key issue I'll be pushing as well as... the issue that existing businesses are being affected," he said.
"At a federal level our focus is on jobs, economic growth and productivity, well this piece of road inhibits all three of those.
"That's the context I'm framing it in at a federal level and I've already had a number of meetings with (Infrastructure Minister) Warren Truss."
A petition has been launched online as part of the taskforce. For more information, visit www.fixthem1.com.au