60-981: Pacific Highway may refer to: Pacific Highway (Australia) – Sydney, New South Wales to Brunswick Heads, New South Wales Pacific Highway (United States) , the name of several highways in the United States Pacific Coast Highway (California) , segments of State Route 1 British Columbia Highway 15 , known locally as the Pacific Highway in Canada See also [ edit ] Pacific Motorway (Brisbane–Brunswick Heads) – Brunswick Heads, New South Wales to Brisbane, Queensland Pacific Motorway (Sydney–Newcastle) – Wahroonga, Sydney, New South Wales to Newcastle, New South Wales Pacific Coast Highway (disambiguation) Atlantic Highway (disambiguation) Topics referred to by
120-451: A ute swerved into the path of a B-double truck, which then veered off-road and crashed into two houses at Urunga . 11-year-old boy Max McGregor, who was sleeping in one of the houses, and the ute driver died from the incident. Another seven people were taken to Coffs Harbour Hospital. It was found that the ute driver had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.245, five times over the limit, equal to more than 25 standard drinks. The section of
180-544: A 14-kilometre (8.7 mi) realignment of Pacific Highway that will bypass the city of Coffs Harbour , including up to 12 sets of traffic lights. It is being built as a four-lane motorway with three tunnels. It is the last section of the Pacific Highway Upgrade, and is being funded by the state and federal governments. The project was granted planning approval by the state government in November 2020 and
240-436: A mutually acceptable upgrade package just after the 1996/97 financial year . As part of a joint New South Wales and federal funding arrangement and upgrade masterplan, single carriageway sections from Tweed Heads to Hexham were progressively converted to freeway or dual carriageway standards commencing in 1996. At the time, the plan targeted to have Pacific Highway upgraded to dual carriageway by 2016. The strategy divided
300-507: A portion of remnant surface road around Coffs Harbour. Major construction of the Coffs Harbour Bypass commenced in 2023. A map of Pacific Highway between Nambucca Heads to its northern terminus, northwest of Byron Bay . Thereafter, Pacific Motorway continues north to Brisbane . KEY Pacific Highway can be broken into the following sections: Pacific Highway passes through some of Australia's fastest growing regions,
360-547: Is a popular holiday and retirement destination. The town is located on the North Coast railway line , and is served by the three daily NSW TrainLink services. Nambucca Heads is the current and historical homeland of the Gumbaynggirr people. Gumbaynggirr lands stretch from Pillar Valley, Tyndale, Grafton and Copmanhurst in the north, to Glen Innes , Guyra and Black Mountain to the west, and to Bowraville to
420-435: Is believed that the first house was built in 1867, when about 50 people had settled in the valley to cut cedar or grow corn . The site of the town was surveyed in 1874 and the first hotel and school were both established in 1884. It was proclaimed a village in 1885. The North Coast railway was extended from Taree to South Grafton in 1915, but Nambucca Heads station was not opened until 1923. Nambucca Heads has one of
480-566: Is derived from an Gumbaynggirr word Ngambagabaga. Clement Hodgkinson asked two Ngamba men what the name of the area was they responded to Nyambagabaga as the spot they were standing was a bend in the river where a Ngamba giant was speared in the leg in the Dreaming . This location is the Foreshore Caravan Park now. Ngamba is a subsection of Gumbaynggirr Nation & Baga Baga means Knee. This was later interpreted as Nambucca. It
540-499: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Pacific Highway (Australia) Pacific Highway is a 790-kilometre-long (491 mi) national highway and major transport route along the central east coast of Australia, with the majority of the highway being part of Australia's Highway 1 . The highway and its adjoining Pacific Motorway between Brisbane and Brunswick Heads and Pacific Motorway between Sydney and Newcastle links
600-539: Is expected to be completed by 2028. Construction formally commenced in January 2024. Warrell Creek bypass opened 29 June 2018 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
660-631: Is signed route A43 for most of its length, and is a four-six lane regional highway passing Lake Macquarie and on through the suburbs of the cities of Lake Macquarie and Newcastle before rejoining route A1 at Hexham . From Bennetts Green to Sandgate it is supplemented by the Newcastle Inner City Bypass , through New Lambton and Jesmond . Two sections of the bypass, Bennetts Green-Rankin Park and Jesmond-Sandgate, are of motorway standard. From Hexham, Pacific Highway passes up
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#1732773272772720-676: Is still a continuous route. Prominent bypassed sections of the highway between Hexham and the border include: In May 2009, the portion of the Tugun Bypass (newly opened in June 2008) within New South Wales boundaries was declared as the new alignment of Pacific Highway between Tweed Heads interchange and the Queensland border. The 1-kilometre-long (0.62 mi) older bypassed alignment along Tweed Heads Bypass (opened 1992) towards
780-705: Is via the scenic Bucketts Way and Thunderbolts Way to the Northern Tablelands at Walcha before rejoining 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 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
840-525: 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. From Sydney, Pacific Highway starts as
900-523: 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, New England Highway is an alternative that passes through fewer major towns and carries less local traffic. Another alternative route
960-687: The Nambucca Valley . It is located on a ridge, north of the estuary of the Nambucca River near the Pacific Highway . Its population at the 2021 census was 6,668 (6,314 in the 2016 census and 6,220 in the 2011 census ), including 5,220 (78.3%) Australian–born persons; followed by 262 (3.9%) English people , 86 (1.3%) New Zealand people , 36 (0.5%) Scottish people , 33 (0.5%) German people , and 32 (0.5%) Filipino people . and 672 (10.1%) indigenous persons . The place name
1020-781: The Parliament of New South Wales provided for the declaration of Main Roads, roads partially funded by the State government through the Main Roads Board (later the Department of Main Roads , and eventually Transport for NSW ). Great Northern Highway was declared (as Main Road No. 9), running from North Sydney via Hornsby, Peat's Ferry, Gosford, Swansea and Newcastle to Hexham (still under construction), and North Coast Highway
1080-506: The 1840s. A direct coastal route between Sydney and Newcastle was not completed until 1930, and completion of the sealing of 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 having been bridged in 1931). Between 1925 and 1930
1140-464: The Central Coast between Hexham and Doyalson, and route B83 between Kariong and Wahroonga). The highway was 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
1200-690: The NSW north coast to Brunswick Heads where it becomes Pacific Motorway through to Brisbane. Pacific Highway used to be an undivided road from Sydney to Brisbane when it was first proclaimed. Since the most recent declaration of the highway in the April 2010 gazette, the New South Wales section of the highway is officially made up of four separate sections: Warringah Freeway, North Sydney to Gosford Interchange near Kariong; Henry Parry Drive, Wyoming to Pacific Motorway at Ourimbah Interchange; Wyong Road, Tuggerah to Hunter Street, Wickham; and Maitland Road, Warrabrook to
1260-464: 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
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#17327732727721320-479: The Northern Tablelands it traverses. Between 1950 and 1967, traffic on Pacific Highway quadrupled due to the attraction of coastal towns between Sydney and Brisbane for retirement living and tourism. Two major coach accidents on Pacific Highway in 1989 near Grafton (in which 21 people died) and at Clybucca near Kempsey (in which 35 people died) resulted in a public outcry over the poor quality of
1380-416: The Roads and Traffic Authority considered the environmental impact statement of a proposal for a toll road between Coolongolook and Possum Brush. The proposal was from Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation Ltd and Travers Morgan Pty Ltd. Until December 1997, a short 3.5-kilometre (2.2 mi) section of the highway between Ourimbah and Kangy Angy was used by Sydney–Newcastle Freeway traffic as there
1440-486: The border at Coolangatta was gazetted as Gold Coast Highway instead, extending the already existing Gold Coast Highway in Queensland, into New South Wales. The Tugun Bypass was handed over to the NSW government in June 2018. The section of the bypassed highway within Queensland borders between Stewart Road and Gold Coast Highway was officially renamed Tugun-Currumbin Road, but is signposted as Stewart Road. Initially,
1500-672: The continuation of 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 Gore Hill Freeway at Artarmon , no route number has been assigned. From Gore Hill Freeway to Wahroonga, the Pacific Highway is designated route A1. When the Warringah Freeway
1560-570: The eastern seaboard of New South Wales comprise a mix of freeway grade-separated conditions, suburban and urban roads. Between 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: Nambucca Heads, New South Wales Nambucca Heads is a town on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales , Australia in
1620-568: The existing declaration of the highway, but redeclared the section between Calga and Kariong. As of January 2019 , this is the most recent gazette to redefine the declaration of Pacific Highway. Even though these three removed sections are not gazetted as part of Pacific Highway any more, street signage continues to show "Pacific Highway" and maps often show both the current road name and "Pacific Highway" together. In Queensland, Pacific Highway used to go into Brisbane, however, most sections have been renamed to other roads or highways. For example,
1680-479: The federal government in December 2020. Tenders for its construction were let in June 2022, with major construction commencing in early 2023. It is expected to be open to traffic in late 2026. The highway was upgraded to dual carriageway that is either an arterial standard (Class A) or a motorway standard (Class M). The Class M sections between Woolgoolga and Ballina are: Following the dual carriageway upgrade,
1740-454: The freeway and the highway at Kangy Angy was also removed. The section of the highway from Cowan to Kariong follows a scenic winding route with varying speed limits, typically 60 or 70 km/h (37 or 43 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
1800-415: The freeway, located 150 m west of the highway, opened to traffic. The new freeway section was one of the last sections of the freeway to be completed and was referred to as the "missing link" of the freeway. Pacific Highway was bypassed and reduced to one lane per direction, and the northbound carriageway and bridge over Ourimbah Creek north of Palmdale Road were removed. The at-grade interchange between
1860-547: The gazette. Confusingly, former sections of the highway removed from the gazette, such as between Gosford and Tuggerah, are still signposted as Pacific Highway. Former sections of Pacific Highway were created when the sections were removed from the gazette definition, or were bypassed by new sections of Pacific Highway. However, as mentioned, some former sections of Pacific Highway that were removed from gazette definition continue to be referred and signposted as Pacific Highway. Between Sydney and Hexham or Newcastle, some sections of
Pacific Highway - Misplaced Pages Continue
1920-597: The highway between Brunswick Heads and Brisbane that have been legally renamed. As such, the highway stops short of the Queensland border near the Gold Coast . It is one of the busiest highways in Australia and was reconstructed as a controlled-access highway (motorway) and limited-access road ( dual carriageway ) standards between Hexham and the Queensland border between 1996 and December 2020, excepting
1980-419: The highway through Urunga was bypassed in 2016. Much of the danger of Pacific Highway lay in the fact that it contained long stretches of undivided road along which all types of vehicles, including private automobiles, buses, vans and trucks, simultaneously travelled at speeds approaching and in excess of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph). The undivided sections carried a high risk of head-on collisions. This
2040-458: The highway was completed in December 2020. Continuous dual carriageway, much of it freeway standard, now extends from Mayfield West in Newcastle to the Queensland border. As of completion, about A$ 15 billion have been invested in the upgrade by the federal and state governments, and fatalities have dropped by more than 75% since the upgrade started in 1996. The Coffs Harbour Bypass is
2100-602: The highway were re-gazetted as other roads and/or not gazetted as part of Pacific Highway anymore. However, as of January 2019 many of these are still referred to and signposted as Pacific Highway. The first two sections of the highway to be removed from the gazette was the Calga to Kariong section and a section in Gosford between Racecourse Road/Etna Street and Brian McGowan Bridge in November 1996. The remaining section within Gosford, between Kariong and Brian McGowan Bridge,
2160-633: 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 eventuated from these proposals. Other sections of Pacific Highway (between Hexham and Sydney) have been upgraded or proposed to be upgraded: Pacific Highway
2220-626: The highway. In 1989, two separate bus crashes, the Grafton bus crash (in which 21 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 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. In January 2012,
2280-480: The main South Coast Road – originally built as a series of small roads linking the dairy and sugar farms south of Brisbane to the main railway line – was declared as Pacific Highway in December 1930. In New South Wales, a section of State Highway 9 (Great Northern Highway) from Hexham to Sydney, was re-declared as part of as State Highway 10; its entire length (including North Coast Highway from Hexham to
2340-716: The oldest surf lifesaving clubs in Australia and also invented junior surf lifesaving known as Nippers . In December 1980 the five kilometre Belwood Deviation of the Pacific Highway opened bypassing Nambucca Heads. Radio Stations 2CS-FM (106.3), Star FM (105.5 & 105.1), 2MC-FM (106.7), Triple J (91.5 & 96.3), 2NVR FM (105.9) The Nambucca Valley's community radio station, 2NVR 105.9FM , focuses on Macksville, Bowraville, Nambucca Heads and surrounding communities. Newspapers Midcoast Observer, Hibiscus Happynings, Guardian News, Coffs Coast Advocate . Television ABC , SBS , Seven Northern NSW, 10 (WIN), Nine ( NBN ) Nambucca Heads railway station , opened in 1923, on
2400-589: The only remaining project of the Pacific Highway Upgrade is the Coffs Harbour Bypass. Additionally, the M1 to Raymond Terrace project , which is classified as a separate project, will be a motorway extending and connecting the Pacific Motorway (Sydney to Newcastle section) to the upgraded Pacific Highway at Raymond Terrace. The M1 to Raymond Terrace project is currently in the planning stage and
2460-681: 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. The passing of the Main Roads Act of 1924 through
Pacific Highway - Misplaced Pages Continue
2520-430: 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
2580-434: The remaining sections into three levels of priority: In the meantime, numerous sections of existing single carriageway road were upgraded by re-alignments and safety improvement work including the addition of overtaking lanes, pavement widening and median barriers. Overall the highway became safer and travelling times were substantially reduced, particularly during holiday periods. . The four lane dual carriageway upgrade of
2640-471: The road and its high fatality rate. 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 Pacific Highway as the Sydney–Brisbane link, due to its easier topography and consequent lower upgrade costs. In 1994,
2700-427: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Pacific Highway . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pacific_Highway&oldid=1142352845 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
2760-495: The section of Pacific Highway between Coolangatta and Currumbin is now part of Gold Coast Highway . Sections of the highway between Hexham and the Queensland/NSW border that were bypassed and replaced by new sections of Pacific Highway, were renamed and downgraded to local roads, and are no longer part of Pacific Highway. As the new sections are just bypasses, this meant that the section between Hexham and Queensland border
2820-532: The south. The Nambucca River separated the Gumbaynggirr from the Dunghutti Ngaku . The name Nambucca comes from an Aboriginal word , ngambugka , variously translated as "winding or crooked river", and as "entrance to the waters." Europeans may have explored the area in 1818, and John Oxley surveyed the area in 1820. The cutting of Australian red cedar had started in the area by 1842. It
2880-424: The state border with Queensland (via Pacific Motorway) to North Sydney. Pacific Highway was signed National Route 1 across its entire length in 1955. With the conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in 2013, this was replaced with route M1 for sections classified as a motorway, and route A1 for sections classified as a highway (except between Hexham and Wahroonga, where it is designated route A43 through most of
2940-407: The state border with Queensland, and the newly added section of Great Northern Highway) was renamed Pacific Highway on 26 May 1931; Great Northern Highway was truncated to meet Pacific Highway at Hexham (and was later renamed to New England Highway in 1933 ). Until the 1990s most road freight between Sydney and Brisbane passed along New England Highway instead, due to the easier topography of
3000-433: The state border with Queensland. Since February 2013, the freeway section of the highway north of Brunswick Heads is also concurrently gazetted and is named and signposted Pacific Motorway . South of here, the section between Brunswick Heads and Bruxner Highway near Ballina is also signposted Pacific Motorway, however it is not declared as so in the gazette as of February 2019, therefore it remains as only Pacific Highway in
3060-623: The state capitals of Sydney in New South Wales with Brisbane in Queensland . It approximately parallels the Tasman Sea and the Coral Sea of the South Pacific Ocean coast. Additionally, between Brunswick Heads and Port Macquarie (excluding a short stretch around Coffs Harbour ), the road is also signed as Pacific Motorway, but has not been legally gazetted as such. Pacific Highway no longer includes former sections of
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#17327732727723120-498: The then-Main Roads Board reconstructed a route between Hornsby and Calga that had been abandoned some forty years earlier, 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
3180-564: Was built in the late 1960s, southbound traffic was diverted through North Sydney via Mount Street. In October 1985 it was again diverted via Berry Street. From Wahroonga, 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 of either 60 or 70 km/h (37 or 43 mph). The section of what
3240-511: Was declared (as Main Road No. 10), running from Hexham, Stroud, Gloucester, Taree, Port Macquarie, Kempsey, Coffs Harbour, South Grafton, Ballina, Byron Bay, Mullumbimby, and Murwillumbah to Tweed Heads, on the same day, 8 August 1928. With the passing of the Main Roads (Amendment) Act of 1929 to provide for additional declarations of State Highways and Trunk Roads, these were amended to State Highways 9 and 10 on 8 April 1929. In Queensland,
3300-479: Was formerly Pacific Highway from Wiseman's Ferry Road junction at Kariong , through to Pacific Highway exit at Gosford (adjacent to Brian McGowan Bridge), has been redeclared as Central Coast Highway with route number A49. The highway then 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 Pacific Motorway near Doyalson numbered as route A43. At this point Pacific Highway
3360-514: Was no freeway alternative. This section of Pacific Highway was designated as part of National Route 1 and subsequently National Highway 1. It was also upgraded to dual carriageway in the early 1970s. Due to the shared freeway and highway traffic, the at-grade interchanges between the freeway and the highway at Ourimbah and Kangy Angy became bottlenecks during peak times. In December 1997, the Ourimbah Creek Road to Kangy Angy stage of
3420-506: Was re-gazetted and renamed Central Coast Highway in August 2006. These changes resulted in the previously undivided section between Ourimbah and Sydney to be split into two: Kariong to Sydney, and Ourimbah to Wyoming . The April 2010 gazette removed the sections between Racecourse Road/Etta Street and Henry Parry Drive/Pemmel Street in Gosford, between Ourimbah and Tuggerah, and between Hunter Street and Industrial Drive in Newcastle from
3480-640: Was relieved to an extent by the provision of regular passing lanes, but these did not fully cope with the high level of traffic during holiday periods. After the 1989 crashes, the investigating coroner, Kevin Waller, recommended that the highway be fully divided along its entire length. Motorists surveyed by the National Roads and Motorists' Association (NRMA) voted Pacific Highway the worst road in New South Wales in 2012. The major intersections of Pacific Highway , spread over 779 kilometres (484 mi) on
3540-751: Was reopened in 2009 when the Holt-Bragg Bridge was opened, named after the family that had perished. The New South Wales section of Pacific Highway from Brunswick Heads to the state border with Queensland was re-declared as part of Pacific Motorway in February 2013. The passing of the Roads Act of 1993 through the Parliament of New South Wales updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this Act, Pacific Highway today retains its declaration as Highway 10, across all four of its gazetted sections, from
3600-425: Was signed National Route 1 along its entire length in 1955. Over time, as road projects reallocated the route, or bypassed it entirely, these remaining sections were replaced with others. Former road routes of Pacific Highway have included: The Pacific Highway was one of the most dangerous and deadly stretches of road in Australia, partly due to its high traffic levels. Between 1995 and 2009, over 400 people died on
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