Frankston Freeway begins at the interchange with the northern section of Mornington Peninsula Freeway, Peninsula Link and EastLink in Carrum Downs, and heads south through Seaford parallel to the Frankston railway line until Frankston-Dandenong Road, veering south-east to terminate within the alignment of McMahons Road just south of Beach Street in the eastern suburbs of Frankston.

The Eastlink tollway connects directly to its northern end, providing a freeway-standard road from Frankston north through the eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

Until 2013, Mornington Peninsula Freeway had a missing section (intended to bypass suburban Frankston) for decades - now built as Peninsula Link - and at the time Frankston Freeway (and later Moorooduc Highway) served as part of the missing link between the two sections of Mornington Peninsula Freeway.

The passing of the Road Management Act 2004[4] granted the responsibility of overall management and development of Victoria's major arterial roads to VicRoads: in 2012, VicRoads re-declared Frankston Freeway (Freeway #1840) between Mornington Peninsula Freeway in Carrum Downs and end at the ramps to Beach Street in Frankston.

[6] The first stage of the northern section of Mornington Peninsula Freeway - a 2km section from Armstrongs Road to Eel Race Drain - connecting to the northern end of Frankston Freeway, was opened in November 1976.