Southeast Queensland motorists have to date largely baulked at paying too much for toll roads, even when they provide an excellent road connection, because there are still free alternatives.

The privately-built Clem 7 tunnel that links South Brisbane and Bowen Hills and the Airport Link tunnel that links Bowen Hills to Brisbane Airport both went into liquidation.

Southeast Queensland motorists basically said 'no' to paying tolls.

On Thursday Infrastructure Australia, the government body charged with trying to prioritise infrastructure projects around Australia, laid out a few basic facts.

Infrastructure Australia insists toll projects in roads and public transport are here to stay to beat the rising cost of delays.

Delays to business caused by traffic congestion are going to cost Australian businesses $53 billion by 2031.

That is 15 years from now, when your Year 1 student of today chooses where he or she will work when they graduate from their commerce degree to get a job working behind a counter.

In Southeast Queensland there are two new projects to judge; The soon-to-open Legacy Way toll tunnel, which has a $500 million federal government injection, and the successful Gold Coast light rail, also with a healthy federal government sweetener of more than $300 million.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Friday spoke carefully but without details about "a judicious mix" of toll roads and government spending to meet the infrastructure challenge.

By the end of 2015 Infrastructure Australia will have prioritised its 15-year list of infrastructure projects on the back of the "state of the country" infrastructure report issued on Friday.

This is how Fairfax Media reported the Queensland section of that report on Friday.

Mr Abbott said the new Infrastructure Australia plan would cover roads, energy, transportation, water and telecommunications.

It will drive action by revealing the cost of inaction, he said.

In Queensland the cost of delays in the heavily urbanised triangle of Brisbane and the Gold and Sunshine coasts will jump almost five-fold from $1.9 billion to $9.2 billion in 15 years.

What does that mean?

That $7.3 billion could fund three new public transport projects; new cross-city rail line for Brisbane that will cost around $5 billion, the next stage of the Gold Coast Light Rail for about $1 billion, plus improvements to the Sunshine Coast rail for around $532 million.

Experts all say these three projects would have an impact on traffic congestion and delays.

Deputy Premier Jackie Trad, also Queensland's infrastructure and transport minister, said the report issued on Friday was proof action was needed.

"If Mr Abbott is serious about being an Infrastructure Prime Minister he must do more than release a report," Ms Trad said.

"He must invest in critical infrastructure projects and work with the state governments to ensure priority projects are funded," she said.

One issue that will be closely scrutinised by Infrastructure Australia is Brisbane's previous Cross River Rail project – put forward by the previous Labor government -  that Infrastructure Australia classed as "shovel ready" and "ready to go" in 2011 and 2012.

Despite this the $5 billion project, to give Brisbane rail commuters an essential second rail crossing, was rejected by LNP state and federal governments as too expensive and badly-designed.

Ms Trad believes the LNP made a mistake.

"In its last priority list, Infrastructure Australia confirmed a second river crossing in Brisbane was the number one priority project for the nation," she said.

"And the second river rail crossing is a key public transport infrastructure project for South East Queensland."

Mr Abbott said there would be co-operation with all levels of government.

"Infrastructure Australia will work with the states and territories on this audit as it prepares the 15-year plan," Mr Abbott said.

"All Australians will be able to see what our priorities are. All Australians will know what they can expect and when they can expect it."

He said too often governments say they cannot afford to build, and learn too late the cost of delay.

"Lives are lost on roads that have not kept pace with the traffic on them; productivity is lost through congestion increasing freight costs," he said.

"Every single one of us lose time that we could spend doing something more productive than sitting in traffic."

Infrastructure Australia's Queensland audit shows:

• Queensland has problems with its ports and their connecting roads and railways.
• The World Bank's Logistics Performance Index 2014 ranks Australia's trade and transport infrastructure 16th in the world, behind Canada.
• There will be a four-fold increase in road traffic in the outer suburbs of Brisbane "with Jimboomba, Ipswich/Springfield- Redbank and Beaudesert all projected to increase at least four-fold."
• It is difficult to estimate where and how to invest in electricity generation in Queensland, the report suggests.
• South-east Queensland's top seven biggest road delays

Ipswich Motorway close to Brisbane is 84 per cent choked in peak hour;

Ipswich Motorway to Wacol - 94 cent choked in morning peak hour;

Pacific Motorway - Beenleigh and Helensvale - 98 per cent choked in peak hour;

Ipswich Motorway to Indooroopilly (Oxley Rd) -  93 per cent choked in peak hour;

Pacific Motorway - City and Beenleigh - 88 per cent choked in peak hour;

Helensvale to Southport - 84 per cent choked in peak hour; and

Gateway Motorway south to Logan - 84 per cent choked in peak hour.

• Rail links: "The Brisbane-Gold Coast-Sunshine Coast's rail networks are projected to increase over time, reaching or "exceeding crush capacity" on the Ipswich and Springfield lines by 2031."
• Ports and airports

The report highlights the need for an inland rail freight link to improve efficiency at the Port of Brisbane and the need for extra investment at Queensland's airports.

"Cairns and Gold Coast airports are projected to have the highest levels of passenger growth of any airports in Australia. They will require significant new infrastructure to provide adequate runway capacity and terminal capacity."

• Water. Queensland's water supplies are secure until 2027. But after that we need a new dam and the current thinking is Linville, north of Esk.