Following technical investigations and feedback from the local community, the Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade plan has been adjusted, with the reference design now available on the Brisbane City Council website. The busy road, which links the Brisbane CBD to the airport, Port of Brisbane and northern suburbs, will be widened from four lanes to six between Theodore Street at Eagle Farm and Cooksley Street at Hamilton. Improvements will also be made to the road conditions between Cooksley Street and Breakfast Creek Road.

As well as additional lanes, the reference design also includes continuous pedestrian footpaths on both sides of the road with improved footpath widths and 1.8-metre on-road cycle lanes between Theodore Street and Racecourse Road. There will also be a two-way off-road cycle path on the river side of Kingsford Smith Drive between Racecourse Road and Breakfast Creek, as well as a riverside pedestrian path, and consolidation of bus stops to allow almost all stops to be indented out of through-traffic lanes. To accommodate all of this, Kingsford Smith Drive will be widened into the river by approximately 10–12 metres. Final designs will be revealed later this year, with construction of the upgrade due for a late 2018 completion.