Budget must include Qld rail project: RACQ

The Turnbull government must commit funding for Brisbane's long-touted Cross River Rail project in next week's budget, Queensland's peak motoring body says.

The RACQ says too much time has been spent debating the second river crossing, which is projected to remove 13,500 people a day from the city's roads by 2026 when rail demand is expected to nearly triple.

"Both the state and federal governments have been fiercely in agreement of the merits of this project since 2008," RACQ spokesman Paul Turner said.

"We need commitments from both levels of government and we need it now to ensure we're building for the future of Brisbane."

The Cross River Rail project has been a political football since it was first proposed in late 2010 by the Bligh Labor government.

The crossing made headlines earlier this month when Opposition Leader Bill Shorten pledged to fund the project and put pressure on the federal government to match the commitment.

It came after Queensland's minority government announced plans to establish a delivery authority for the project despite having no business case, prompting the Liberal National Party opposition to label the announcement as a publicity stunt for Mr Shorten.

The Turnbull government has said it would wait until the project's business case was finalised, which is expected to happen by mid-June.

Mr Turner said the RACQ wanted next week's budget to include further funding commitments for key networks outside Brisbane, including expanding the number of lanes on the Pacific and Ipswich motorways.

"Additionally it's important there's a continuation of funding for previous commitments including 80/20 funding of the Bruce Highway, Toowoomba Second Range Crossing, Warrego Highway and the Gateway Upgrade North," he said.