Commencing in the state capital, Brisbane, it passes through areas close to the eastern coast on its way to Cairns in Far North Queensland.

The road is a dual carriageway from Brisbane to Curra, north of Gympie, many of these upgrades being completed in the 1980s (Glass House Mountains, Tanawha, Maryborough) and 1990s (Nambour, Yandina, and Cooroy).

[citation needed] The highway commences just south of the bridge over the Pine River at the Gateway Motorway interchange, 21 kilometres (13 mi) north of the Brisbane central business district.

[citation needed] Major cities along the route include Gympie, Maryborough, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville, and Cairns.

[citation needed] This section of the Bruce Highway crosses the Pine River into the City of Moreton Bay, passing through mainly urban areas before crossing the Caboolture River and reaching the Caboolture / Bribie Island interchange after 24.5 kilometres (15.2 mi).

It runs past or through Murrumba Downs, Griffin, Kallangur, Mango Hill, North Lakes, Dakabin, Narangba, Burpengary and Morayfield.

[citation needed] The Caboolture / Bribie Island interchange also provides access to the D'Aguilar Highway via a service road.

It passes the southern entry to Steve Irwin Way, a bypassed section of the highway, which provides access to Beerburrum, Glass House Mountains, Beerwah, Australia Zoo and Landsborough before terminating at the Caloundra Road interchange.

[citation needed] The 33 kilometres (21 mi) to the end of the M1 at Kybong includes three interchanges that provide access to the Old Bruce Highway.

It has numerous parts with lower speed limits, including urban areas, high crash zones and roadwork sites.

The highway then passes through the Gympie urban fringe, with several at grade intersections providing access to various parts of the city.

[citation needed] With the completion of Section C of the Bruce Highway – Cooroy to Curra upgrade project (Traveston to Woondum) in February 2018[15] the M1 has now been extended to Kybong, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of Gympie.

[17][18] Roads to the north of Brisbane in the early days of settlement were constrained by the need to use reliable low level crossings of rivers and creeks well upstream from the coast.

Following the catastrophic Queensland floods in 2010–2011 the Australian Government commissioned a feasibility study on flood-proofing the highway.

[38] Numerous stretches of the highway are set to undergo redevelopment, realignment, flood-proofing and extension of dual carriageway sections.

Later on, the entire Nambour Bypass went through a process of rehabilitation due to the extremely rough surface and dangerous pothole appearances during wet weather.

[citation needed] As of 2020 Sections A, B & C of the joint State and Federal funded 61 kilometres (38 mi) Cooroy to Curra upgrade of the highway are open.

[citation needed] The Northern Australia Beef Roads Program announced in 2016 included the following project: The project for upgrading between Gracemere saleyards and the Rockhampton abattoirs to provide access for Type 1 Road Trains was completed by early 2021 at a total cost of $30 million.

To avoid unnecessary length this table does not show any bridges (see River crossings below) To avoid unnecessary length this table does not show any bridges (see River crossings below) The former Bruce Highway diverts from the A1 at the Annandale, Douglas, Mount Stuart tripoint (1,331 kilometres (827 mi) from start – see Major intersections – A1) and rejoins at the Deeragun / Mount Low boundary (1,350 kilometres (840 mi) from start) It runs north as University Road, crossing the Ross River via the Charles N Barton Bridge and continuing north as Nathan Street.

[123] To facilitate the use of electric vehicles the Queensland Government has installed fast chargers in convenient, safe locations close to major highways where there are existing amenities such as cafes, restaurants and shops.

They are at Cardwell, Marlborough and Carmila (Puma Service Stations) The others are some distance from the highway in car parks or other places as listed in the reference.

[126] The network has been extended to the west, encompassing locations from the east coast to and between Cummamulla, Cloncurry, Longreach and Mount Isa.