Pacific Highway (Australia)

Route description

The Pacific Highway is a 790-kilometre-long (490 mi) national highway and major transport route along the central east coast of Australia, with the majority of it being part of Australia's national route 1.

Various sections of the route are dual carriageway or motorway-standard:

Brisbane to Ballina: Completely replaced by the Pacific Motorway as part of the 1996 Upgrade Masterplan.

Ballina to Hexham: Progressively being converted to dual carriageway or freeway standards, as part of the 1996 Upgrade Masterplan.

Hexham to Wahroonga: replaced by the Pacific Motorway (also known as the Sydney–Newcastle Freeway and formerly the F3 Freeway) as the national route between Wahroonga and Beresfield in sections between 1965 and 1993.

Wahroonga to Sydney CBD: divided metropolitan road, with Metroad route substituting the national route, the route via M2 Motorway and Pennant Hills Road as an alternative.

The Pacific Highway passes through some of Australia's fastest growing regions, the NSW's Central Coast and North Coast and also the Brisbane-Gold Coast corridor, with tourism and leisure being the primary economic activity. Hence the traffic is heavy, particularly during holiday seasons, resulting in major congestion. For direct Sydney–Brisbane travel, the New England Highway is an alternative that passes through fewer major towns and carries less local traffic. Another alternate route is via the scenic Bucketts Way and Thunderbolts Way to the Northern Tablelands at Walcha before rejoining the New England Highway at Uralla. This route reduces the distance of the Sydney to Brisbane trip by about 70 kilometres (43 mi).

Major cities and towns along the Pacific Highway include: Gosford, Wyong, Newcastle, Taree, Port Macquarie, Kempsey, Coffs Harbour, Grafton, Ballina and Byron Bay, all in New South Wales; and Gold Coast in Queensland.

Major river crossings include the Hawkesbury, Hunter, Myall (just to the east of Bulahdelah), Manning (south of Coopernook), Hastings (west of Port Macquarie), Macleay (just to the east of Frederickton), Nambucca (near Macksville), Bellinger (near Raleigh), Clarence (via the Harwood Bridge near Maclean), Richmond (at Ballina), Brunswick, and Tweed rivers.

Sydney to Kariong

From Sydney the Pacific Highway starts as the continuation of the Bradfield Highway at the northern end of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, immediately north of the Sydney central business district and is the main route as far as the suburb of Wahroonga. From the Harbour Bridge to the Gore Hill Freeway at Artarmon it has no route number and from the Gore Hill Freeway to Wahroonga it is designated as A1. When the Warringah Freeway was built in the late 1960s, southbound traffic was diverted through North Sydney via Mount Street. In the late 1980s it was again diverted via Berry Street.

From Wahroonga, the Pacific Highway is mostly parallel to the freeway until Kariong (at which point it diverts into the Central Coast through Gosford and Wyong). The section of the highway from Cowan to Kariong follows a scenic winding route with varying speed limits, typically 60 or 80 km/h (37 or 50 mph).

Somersby to Hexham

The section of what was formerly the Pacific Highway from the Wiseman's Ferry Road junction at Somersby, through to the Pacific Highway exit at Gosford (adjacent to Brian McGowan Bridge), has been rebadged as the Central Coast Highway with the route number A49. Then the highway continues north without a route number through the Central Coast suburbs of Ourimbah and Wyong as a regional route before meeting with a spur of the Pacific Motorway near Doyalson numbered as "A43". At this point the Pacific Highway becomes "A43" for most of its length, and is a four-lane regional highway passing Lake Macquarie and on through the suburbs of the cities of Lake Macquarie and Newcastle before rejoining national route 1 at Hexham.

From Bennetts Green to Sandgate it is supplemented by the Newcastle Inner City Bypass, through New Lambton and Jesmond. Two lengths of this route (Bennetts Green-Kotara Heights and Jesmond-Sandgate) have been replaced by freeway.

North of Hexham

From Hexham, the Pacific Highway (A1) passes up the NSW north coast to Brunswick Heads where it becomes the Pacific Motorway (M1) through to Brisbane.

Former sections

The Pacific Highway used to be an undivided road from Sydney to Brisbane when it was first proclaimed. As of January 2014 it is made up of four separate sections within New South Wales: Warringah Freeway, North Sydney to Gosford Interchange near Kariong; Henry Parry Drive, Wyoming to Sydney - Newcastle Freeway at Ourimbah Interchange; Wyong Road, Tuggerah to Hunter Street, Wickham; and Maitland Road, Warrabrook to to the Queensland Border.

Before the Central Coast Highway was proclaimed, one of the sections from Ourimbah to Sydney were undivided. When a part of the highway (Kariong to Gosford section) was converted to Central Coast Highway, this section is split into 2: Kariong to Sydney, and Ourimbah to Wyoming. The short section from Gosford to Wyoming was renamed as Mann Street.

Even though these sections are not gazetted as the highway anymore, maps continue to show both the current road name and "Pacific Highway" together.

Major intersections

The major intersections of the Pacific Highway, spread over 790 kilometres (490 mi) on the eastern seaboard of New South Wales comprise a mix of freeway grade-separated conditions, suburban and urban roads. Between the Pacific Motorway at Brunswick Heads in the north, and the highway's southern terminus at Bradfield Highway and Cahill Expressway in North Sydney, major intersections include:

Bruxner Highway (B60) Gwydir Highway (B76) Oxley Highway (B56) New England Highway (A43) Newcastle Inner City Bypass (A37) Central Coast Highway (A49) Pacific Motorway (M1) Cumberland Highway (A28) Mona Vale Road / Ryde Road (A3) Gore Hill Freeway (M1) Lane Cove Tunnel (M2) Warringah Freeway (M1)

History

Initially, the primary mode of transport of the coastal areas between Sydney and Brisbane was by boat. From the roads radiating out from the port towns, the intervening hills were eventually crossed to create a continuous route along the coast, but this did not occur until the first decade of the 20th century. By contrast a continuous inland route from Newcastle to Brisbane via the Northern Tablelands had been in existence since the 1840s. A direct coastal route between Sydney and Newcastle was not completed until 1930, and completion of the sealing of the Pacific Highway did not occur until 1958 (at Koorainghat, south of Taree). The last of the many ferries across the coastal rivers was not superseded by a bridge until 1966 (the Harwood Bridge across the south channel of the Clarence River – the north channel had been bridged in 1931).

Between 1925 and 1930 the then-Main Roads Board reconstructed a route between Hornsby and Calga that had been abandoned some forty years earlier, in order to provide a direct road link between Sydney and Newcastle. In addition a replacement route, from Calga into the gorge of Mooney Mooney Creek and up to the ridge at Kariong above Gosford, was also required. This new Sydney–Newcastle route via Calga and Gosford was some 80 kilometres (50 mi) shorter than the previous route via Parramatta, McGraths Hill, Maroota, Wisemans Ferry, Wollombi and Cessnock. At first Peats Ferry was reinstituted to cross the Hawkesbury River, with construction of the bridge not beginning until 1938, due to the Great Depression. Due to the onset of World War II, the Peats Ferry Bridge was not completed until May 1945.

In 1928 the road from Sydney to Newcastle (still under construction) was proclaimed as part of the Great Northern Highway, and the road from Hexham to Tweed Heads as the North Coast Highway. In 1931 the full length from Sydney to Brisbane was proclaimed as the Pacific Highway.

Until the 1990s most road freight between Sydney and Brisbane passed along the New England Highway instead, due to the easier topography of the Northern Tablelands it traverses. Between 1950 and 1967, traffic on the Pacific Highway quadrupled due to the attraction of coastal towns between Sydney and Brisbane for retirement living and tourism.

Two major coach accidents on the Pacific Highway in 1989 near Grafton (in which 20 people died) and at Clybucca near Kempsey (in which 35 people died) resulted in a public outcry over the poor quality of the road and its high fatality rate. The Pacific Highway was never part of the federally funded system of National Highways. This appears to be because when the federal government funding of the 'national highway' system began in 1974, the longer New England Highway was chosen rather than the Pacific Highway as the Sydney–Brisbane link due to its easier topography and consequent lower upgrade costs.

Yet the highway was undeniably heavily used by interstate traffic and its upgrade was beyond the resources of the New South Wales government alone. The NSW and federal governments argued for years about how the responsibility for funding the highway's upgrade should be divided between themselves, only coming up with a mutually acceptable upgrade package just after the 1996/97 financial year.

1996 upgrade masterplan

Single carriageway sections from Tweed Heads to Hexham are progressively being converted to freeway or dual carriageway standards. These are currently being upgraded as part of a joint New South Wales and federal funding arrangement and upgrade masterplan commencing in 1996. At the time, the plan targeted to have the Pacific Highway upgraded to dual carriageway by 2016. The current strategy divides the remaining sections into three levels of priority:

Priority 1: Tweed Heads to Ballina, Port Macquarie to Hexham, Woolgoolga to Raleigh (now completed)

Priority 2: Raleigh to Port Macquarie (expected to be completed by 2017)

Priority 3: Ballina to Woolgoolga (expected to be completed by 2020)

In the meantime, numerous sections of existing single carriageway road have been upgraded by re-alignments and safety improvement work including the addition of overtaking lanes, pavement widening and median barriers. Most large towns have bypasses of a freeway standard, with Coffs Harbour and Grafton being important remainders. Overall the highway has become safer and travelling times have been substantially reduced, particularly during holiday periods. As of August 2016, about 30% of the Pacific Highway from Tweed Heads to Hexham remains one lane in each direction with some form of overtaking opportunity occasionally (or three lanes undivided on occasions), 70% (459 km) is dual carriageway and a further 24% (161 km) of dual carriageway is under construction. Continuous dual carriageway, much of it freeway standard, now extends from Mayfield West to the Oxley Highway interchange at Port Macquarie.

As of 31 March 2016 the status of four lane dual carriageway on the highway was:

Projects

Most of the Pacific Highway is freeway standard with single lane sections between Oxley Highway and Ballina. North of the Oxley Highway there are dual carriageway sections from Kempsey South to Warrell Creek ,North Urunga to Woolgoolga, the Coffs Harbour urban area (not freeway standard – but still 4 lanes), short sections at Halfway Creek, Glenugie and Devils Pulpit. It is all freeway standard from Ballina to Brisbane

Environmental impact assessments have been completed for every section with these exceptions. Coffs Harbour Bypass and M1 to Raymond Terrace

Preferred routes have been selected for every stretch on the Pacific Highway.

Bulahdelah was the last town to be bypassed between Hexham and Port Macquarie. A joint federal-New South Wales A$315 million initiative was approved in July 2007, and enabled the construction of about 8.6 kilometres (5.3 mi) of four lane divided road with an eastern bypass of the Bulahdelah township. The bypass opened in late 2013.

The 12.4 kilometres (7.7 mi) long Ballina Bypass was completed and open to traffic from 28 April 2012 at a cost of A$640 million. The northern section of the bypass (Cumbalum Interchange to Ross Lane Interchange) opened in March 2011 while the central section (Teven Road Interchange to Cumbalum Interchange) partially opened in December 2011; with northbound lanes from Teven to Bruxner opened in February 2012.

Funding issues

In 2007 mounting pressure was placed on the federal government to provide additional funding for the highway. On 10 October 2007 the Federal Minister for Transport and Regional Services pledged $2.4 billion in funding for the highway, subject to dollar for dollar funding by the NSW state government. However, the NSW state government refused to match funding. In the lead up to the 2007 federal election, then opposition leader Kevin Rudd pledged $1.5 billion in funding. As part of Auslink 2 (Nation Building Program), the federal government announced in its 2009 federal budget that $3.1 billion would be spent on the highway up until 2014 at which time just 63% of the highway would be duplicated. The NSW government will spend just $500 million over that same period, with $300 million cut as a result of the 2008 mini budget.

From time to time, there are proposals in the media for the private sector to build a fully controlled-access high-speed tollway between Newcastle and the Queensland border, possibly using the BOT system of infrastructure provision. Nothing has eventuated from these proposals.

The section of the highway from Cowan to Kariong follows a scenic winding route with varying speed limits, typically 60 or 80 km/h (37 or 50 mph). This section was damaged quite severely during severe weather in June 2007. Five people died when a bridge over Piles Creek collapsed and the entire section was closed due to subsidence 2 km (1.2 mi) further south. The road was reopened in 2009 when the Holt-Bragg Bridge was opened, named after the family that had perished.

Central Coast Highway

A 50 kilometres (31 mi) section of road between the Pacific Motorway at Kariong, and the Pacific Highway at Doyalson was renamed the Central Coast Highway from 9 August 2006.

Former route numbers

Former road routes have included:

National Route 1 (1955–2013): Tweed Heads–Hexham

National Route 1 (1955–88) / State Route 111 (1988–2013): Hexham–Doyalson

National Route 1 (1955–79) / State Route 83 (1979–2013): Doyalson–Wahroonga

National Route 1 (1955–93) / Metroad 1 (1993–2013): Wahroonga–Artarmon

National Route 1 (1955–92) / State Route 14 (1992–98) / Metroad 10 (1998–2007): Artarmon–Crows Nest

National Route 1 (1955–93): Crows Nest–North Sydney

Safety

The Pacific Highway is one of the most dangerous and deadly stretches of road in Australia. Between 1995 and 2009, over 400 people died on the highway. In 1989, two separate bus crashes, the Grafton bus crash (in which 20 people died) and the Kempsey bus crash (in which 35 died) on the highway were two of the worst road accidents in Australia's history. In 2010, 38 people died on the Pacific Highway, and in 2011, 25 people. Over the past 15 years, the New South Wales Roads & Traffic Authority reports that about 1,200 people have been injured each year.

Much of the danger of the Pacific Highway lies in the fact that it contains long stretches of undivided road along which all types of vehicles, including private automobiles, buses, vans and trucks, simultaneously travel at speeds approaching and in excess of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph). The undivided sections carry a high risk of head-on collisions. After the 1989 crashes, the investigating coroner, Kevin Waller, recommended that the highway be fully divided along its entire length, but only 51% had been divided by 2012. Motorists surveyed by the National Roads and Motorists' Association voted the Pacific Highway the worst road in New South Wales in 2012.