Pacific Highway final section opens this weekend

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Paul Rands

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Dec 10, 2020, 7:45:28 PM12/10/20
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Hey Guys,

The last section of dual carriageway / minimum of 4 lanes of Pacific Hwy opens this weekend

https://www.facebook.com/KevinHoganMP/posts/3746071585484578

THE PACIFIC HIGHWAY UPGRADE IS FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The last section south of Woodburn is set to open this weekend. What an amazing job it has been to watch this get built over the last 7 years.
The section between Woolgoolga and Ballina cost $5 billion, is 144 kilometres long and will be - FINISHED THIS WEEKEND!!!
This is certainly an historic event for our community. It is now a safer road, there will be less fatalities and quicker travel times.
🚧 More than 3000 people were employed on this project at its peak period with many more indirect jobs created.
🚧 The number of fatal crashes on the highway has more than halved since the upgrade started.
🚧 The overall travel distance between Woolgoolga and Ballina will be about 13 kilometres shorter and travel time will be about 25 minutes faster.
🚧 Through construction there has been over 15 million cubic metres of earthwork completed.
🚧 This has been Australia’s largest concrete paving job, with more than 785,000 cubic metres of concrete for paving completed.
🚧 More than 240,000 tonnes of asphalt has been used for paving, and more than 8,900 precast concrete elements have been used.
🚧 There are 170 bridges over rivers, creeks, and floodplains, including major bridges crossing the Clarence and Richmond rivers.
Very exciting. Thank you to everyone involved in the construction.
For information about this upgrade, click this link: https://www.pacifichighway.nsw.gov.au/

https://scontent-syd2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/130722074_3748657928559277_2999412186075445445_o.jpg?_nc_cat=103&ccb=2&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=UcqCAhp76wwAX_9MPV5&_nc_ht=scontent-syd2-1.xx&oh=2e991adc16e7cac7d5b069b8f557b8f5&oe=5FF6C587
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Vincent

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Dec 10, 2020, 10:13:03 PM12/10/20
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I can hardly believe it. Driving through roadworks on the Pacific Highway must be a memory for pretty much everyone who's driven between Sydney and Brisbane over the past 20 years, it's going to be amazing to be able to drive the whole highway without mentally preparing for the next long swathe of 40 zones coming up. 

Of the last stretch of highway recently open/about to open, I wonder which towns are going to be able to reinvent themselves as quiet villages and which are going to sink without the highway passing through. I'll be interested to see how Ulmarra, Woodburn and Broadwater fare in particular.

Cheers,
Vincent. 

Jason Kumar

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Dec 10, 2020, 10:38:24 PM12/10/20
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Great to finally see this! Just in time for the summer holidays and the hoards of people from Sydney going up north!
Jason

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DrazPhlaz

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Dec 11, 2020, 12:11:45 AM12/11/20
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Anyone who remembers driving on the old pacific highway >20 years back will remember how awful it was, and locals of the towns along it will be thrilled to finally get their roads back as this new highway takes all that traffic off their streets. This upgrade has been a long time coming and it’s kind of emotional to see it finally finished

Nihat

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Dec 11, 2020, 6:17:32 AM12/11/20
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Fabulous news. 

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Paul Rands

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Dec 11, 2020, 11:58:39 PM12/11/20
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Hi Vincent,

Given the proximity of some of those towns to more larger centres, it'd certainly be wise to start getting people to tree-change or retire to a quieter setting, but still be close to the amenities they're accustomed to.

Tourism is going to be a hard slog for some though, with many towns keeping all their eggs in the one basket for many years: farming, passing highway trade and not a lot else. Smart towns would've been working hard on it long before the bypasses were finished, but on my most recent visit, it really didn't look like many had done a lot.

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Nihat

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Dec 12, 2020, 1:52:00 AM12/12/20
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Ill be interested to see how they fare in the long term, Ulmarra for example is a long detour off the highway. At the moment there is no servo on the highway between Halfway Creek and Ballina so cars will be ducking in to the towns to fill up especially if its 24 hours. 

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On Fri, Dec 11, 2020 at 2:13 PM Vincent <vincent....@gmail.com> wrote:
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roe...@gmx.net

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Dec 12, 2020, 5:41:29 AM12/12/20
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Wouldn’t Ulmarra always lose out to Tyndale when it comes to quick service stops? Believe there is a 24h roadhouse right on the junction between new Pacific Highway and the old road. 

In a broader sense: if you look what happened elsewhere in the world, sooner rather than later services do pop up next to exits, thus well outside of the towns bypassed. In the first instances, the shop owners in town will have enough influence to stop that type of development, but it won’t stop their demise and eventually city halls do give in. If shops/services in towns bypassed want to take something of the through traffic pie, they need to reinvent themselves in a different way - position themselves as something worth a longer stop. 

It’s what signs “Historic Market Town” along English dual carriageways are for, and the French concept of the village étape. 



On 12/12/2020 at 07:51, Nihat wrote:

Vincent Muller

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Dec 12, 2020, 6:31:38 AM12/12/20
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That's an interesting point you make about the historic market town/village étape. 

Ulmarra is a quirky little town on the Clarence and I think it could definitely reinvent itself, but its proximity works against it. If you're travelling south you can exit at Tyndale and take Big River Way to Ulmarra, but then to rejoin the highway you have to drive all the way through Grafton and rejoin the highway at Glenugie. If you're heading north, same deal in reverse. Arguably it's even worse heading north, you have to pass through Grafton and take BRW for much longer before you hit Ulmarra.  It'll have to be a pretty compelling sell to get people to divert that far off the direct route.


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Lachlan Sims

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Dec 12, 2020, 3:17:42 PM12/12/20
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For new service centres with direct access to the highway, there is actually a government policy in place - see https://www.pacifichighway.nsw.gov.au/pacific-highway-upgrade/document-library/highway-service-centre-policy

This provides for new service centres at Woolgoolga (Arrawarra rest area) and Maclean to supplement the others already in place north and south (roughly every 100km or so)

Phillip McCallum

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Dec 13, 2020, 1:16:23 AM12/13/20
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I can now confirm I am intending to drive north-south the length of the Pacific Hwy next Saturday.  Our route will then take us through the new tunnel and around Sydney and follow the Hume to Melbourne on Sunday.  We will be looking for a place to stay in Goulburn on Saturday night.  Looking forward to seeing so much new road, although I did drive from Brisbane to Coffs in June shortly after the Grafton bypass section was opened.

 

Phillip

 

 

 

 

From: aussie-...@googlegroups.com <aussie-...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Lachlan Sims
Sent: Sunday, 13 December 2020 6:18 AM
To: aussie-...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [Aussie Highways] Re: Pacific Highway final section opens this weekend

 

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roe...@gmx.net

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Dec 13, 2020, 7:44:15 AM12/13/20
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Thanks Lachlan. I’m more fascinated by the policy that shire counsels are to refuse planning permissions for any proposed out-of-town developments that are inconsistent with the policy of having one Highway Service Centre every c.100km. Which is basically the type of truckstops and fastfood plazas that did materialise near rural freeways pretty much everywhere else in the world. 

As I said in my earlier post, I think that this type of policy will not stop the demise of town centers in places now bypassed, following which out-of-town developments will be permitted. So let’s see what will happen in the next ten years. Question in itself whether this rule will also prevent more limited upgrades to truckstops near highway exits, eg the place in Tyndale that I referred to earlier. 

Best,
Mees



On 12/12/2020 at 21:17, Lachlan Sims wrote:

Nihat

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Dec 16, 2020, 6:44:32 AM12/16/20
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Look forward to a trip report. The guys on the facebook page mentioned the final section is 100 while the rest is 110. Let us know when driving it if this seems appropriate, there are not that many intersections there, may be temporary only. 

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DrazPhlaz

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Dec 16, 2020, 4:56:17 PM12/16/20
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110 seems suitable for the whole length considering Hume Hwy is and it has at-level junctions too. Once Coffs and Heatherbrae bypasses are built, the entire road could be 110

Lachlan Sims

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Dec 16, 2020, 5:12:25 PM12/16/20
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There are still some 100km/h speed limit sections that will likely remain for the time being on the older upgraded sections (Taree area and south) where traffic levels and turning movements/conflicts are higher.  These include Harrington/Coopernook Rds, Myall Way and Bucketts Way.Medowie Rd.  The need for grade separation at each of these examples will be in the spotlight now that the full upgrade is completed and once the M1 connection to Raymond Terrace is finalised.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/aussie-highways/e863d1b6-7f9e-40be-8f66-5b31e6c288a4n%40googlegroups.com.

Nihat

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Dec 17, 2020, 5:50:34 AM12/17/20
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Phillip McCallum

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Dec 17, 2020, 4:30:22 PM12/17/20
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I find these 100 sections confusing, because some of them are quite long, and you can lose track of the current speed limit. 

 

Anyway!  I shall report in when I get to Melbourne.

Phillip McCallum

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Dec 18, 2020, 2:13:57 AM12/18/20
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And in breaking news…. Sigh!

 

Thanks to the COVID restrictions brought in place today, we have decided to abandon our drive down the Pacific and Hume and are heading to Victoria via the Newell instead.  Not nearly as much fun, but at least we won’t have to do any self-isolating and checks when we get to Melbourne.

 

Sorry – no Pacific report from me on this occasion, but there might be the possibility of returning that way on the first weekend in January.

 

Phillip

 

 

From: aussie-...@googlegroups.com <aussie-...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Phillip McCallum
Sent: Friday, 18 December 2020 7:30 AM
To: aussie-...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [Aussie Highways] Re: Pacific Highway final section opens this weekend

 

 

I find these 100 sections confusing, because some of them are quite long, and you can lose track of the current speed limit. 

 

Anyway!  I shall report in when I get to Melbourne.

 

 

Phillip

 

 

From: aussie-...@googlegroups.com <aussie-...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Lachlan Sims
Sent: Thursday, 17 December 2020 8:12 AM
To: aussie-...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [Aussie Highways] Re: Pacific Highway final section opens this weekend

 

There are still some 100km/h speed limit sections that will likely remain for the time being on the older upgraded sections (Taree area and south) where traffic levels and turning movements/conflicts are higher.  These include Harrington/Coopernook Rds, Myall Way and Bucketts Way.Medowie Rd.  The need for grade separation at each of these examples will be in the spotlight now that the full upgrade is completed and once the M1 connection to Raymond Terrace is finalised.

 

On Thu, Dec 17, 2020 at 8:56 AM DrazPhlaz <harrison...@gmail.com> wrote:


110 seems suitable for the whole length considering Hume Hwy is and it has at-level junctions too. Once Coffs and Heatherbrae bypasses are built, the entire road could be 110

On Wednesday, 16 December 2020 at 10:44:32 pm UTC+11 Nihat wrote:

Look forward to a trip report. The guys on the facebook page mentioned the final section is 100 while the rest is 110. Let us know when driving it if this seems appropriate, there are not that many intersections there, may be temporary only. 

 

Virus-free. www.avg.com

 

On Sun, Dec 13, 2020 at 5:16 PM Phillip McCallum <Phillip....@qb.org.au> wrote:

 

I can now confirm I am intending to drive north-south the length of the Pacific Hwy next Saturday.  Our route will then take us through the new tunnel and around Sydney and follow the Hume to Melbourne on Sunday.  We will be looking for a place to stay in Goulburn on Saturday night.  Looking forward to seeing so much new road, although I did drive from Brisbane to Coffs in June shortly after the Grafton bypass section was opened.

 

Phillip

 

 

 

 

From: aussie-...@googlegroups.com <aussie-...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Lachlan Sims
Sent: Sunday, 13 December 2020 6:18 AM
To: aussie-...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [Aussie Highways] Re: Pacific Highway final section opens this weekend

 

For new service centres with direct access to the highway, there is actually a government policy in place - see https://www.pacifichighway.nsw.gov.au/pacific-highway-upgrade/document-library/highway-service-centre-policy

Nihat

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Dec 18, 2020, 2:45:45 AM12/18/20
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No worries, these things change pretty quickly just when you think things are getting back to normal. 

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Paul Rands

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Dec 22, 2020, 10:25:26 PM12/22/20
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Will you be taking photos? Will be good to see some other perspectives now that it's fully opened. I went through in October and there was still a lot of stuff going on

Paul Rands

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Dec 22, 2020, 10:33:51 PM12/22/20
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Not even a run down south then west?

Phillip McCallum

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Dec 22, 2020, 11:53:44 PM12/22/20
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Sorry mate, ended up on the Newell instead thanks to less Covid risk getting into Victoria.  It will have to wait…

Phillip McCallum

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Dec 22, 2020, 11:55:54 PM12/22/20
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That’s sort of what I did in June!  Down the Pacific and then across Waterfall Way and inland to Dubbo.  Interesting but slow trip….

 

 

From: aussie-...@googlegroups.com <aussie-...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Paul Rands
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Not even a run down south then west?

Paul Rands

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Dec 24, 2020, 7:01:05 AM12/24/20
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It is a bit of a slow run, which is why I divert via Nymboida. Saves a fair amount of time.

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Ethan “CainNKalos” Barrow

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Jun 8, 2026, 4:38:42 AM (yesterday) Jun 8
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Just stumbled across this thread, but I think 5 years on, Ulmarra is probs gonna survive for the simple reason that the best and quickest way to Grafton (from the north) is to go via the old highway. And the old highway is still in honestly great condition.

Another two factors in it's favour is that whenever the Pacific gets cut due to flooding (something that's happened three times in the last 5 years from memory), the quickest way is to go via Grafton onto the Gwydir Hwy out to Glen Innes to then go along the New England Hwy, which provided for an interesting experience when I hadta do that last year. And the other factor bein that Grafton consistently has fuel be 10-15 cents cheaper north of Port Macquarie and south of Tweed.

I've never had a need nor desire to go to Woodburn or Broadwater, so that might be indicative of how those towns may be potentially faring.
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