Plans and feedback portal for M1 Pacific Mwy extension between Hexham and Raymond Terrace

[Paul Rands]

The Pacific Mwy (M1) extension web site is now live https://caportal.com.au/tfnsw/m1rt

Paul R

li...@paulrands.com

http://www.expressway.online/

[Nihat]

Coffs Harbour underway as well. Good vantage points there and lookouts to see the various cuttings and tunnel construction happenings over the next years. 

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[Nihat]

Latest update for Coffs Harbour, progressing well

https://pacifichighway.nsw.gov.au/document-library/coffs-harbour-bypass-report-card-october-2023

[Nihat]

Here's the latest flyover of the M1 Extension

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bYREg5sqVw

[Nihat]

September flyover of M1 extension with latest traffic switches. Heatherbrae bypass is progressing well but i can't see them only opening this stage?

https://youtu.be/tcRNbN8HOHE?si=Sc3NC0NZea4PA4RS

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[AlienChex]

AFAIK there are no plans to open the bypass in stages, the whole project will open in 2028. However Heatherbrae bypass looks like it's progressing really smoothly and will be done long before Hexham, so hopefully they can do a traffic switch at the Old Punt Road junction to at least get people onto that section earlier.

[Aevion]

It does look like the Heatherbrae bypass could be finished earlier, and in fact the whole project looks like it could be done well before 2028, but we'll see. As for the bypass opening before the rest, from memory back when the Woolgoolga bypass was finished RMS were adamant there were no plans to open that section before the rest of the upgrade despite it being finished, but only a week later it was opened to traffic. Perhaps that might happen here too.

Either way, exciting to see this project going so well after waiting an eternity for it to start in the first place. New South Wales really is a hive of construction activity.

[Michael Faria]

The progress looks strong in the 27 August 2025 Google Earth image. It shows both abutments done and 65% of the super Ts placed, which they started twelve months prior. They just need to drive piles on the short land section on the Tomago side and form the piers over the river, which they appear well set up to do. The new motorway pavement and ramps at either end are nearly done, so it appears to me they could have the project open to traffic between Tomago Rd and the existing John Renshaw interchange by the end of next year if they wanted.

The new westbound section of the New England Hwy approaching John Renshaw Dr is due open this week so I'll take a drive and maybe photos. It will allow them to finish the onramp to the new bridge for Raymond Terrace-bound traffic and also hopefully allow them to have two lanes again feeding John Renshaw.

As for staging, there doesn't appear to be any sign of a temporary tie-in to allow the Heatherbrae bypass to open early and I think that the bypass of the Hexham Bridge is much more valuable in terms of traffic relief.

[Michael Faria]

I'm uploading some photos here as it seems the most appropriate place. I took a photo of each approach on Maitland road to the Newcastle Inner City Bypass intersection showing the completed six-laning. Facing toward Maitland there's a large paved area on the left to allow wind turbine movements, and a rather obscured ID for Maitland Rd traffic turning right. The third photo is of a new AD on John Renshaw Dr signing Weakleys Dr as being both sides of the lights, and in the distance you can just see the recent duplication of John Renshaw Dr on the Kurri Kurri side which was done as a seperate project and extends to the lights for the new industrial estate. The AD on the New England Hwy approaching the John Renshaw Dr exit appeared to have bordered route numbers, the permanent traffic switch was meant to open last week but has been postponed due to a worksite fatality. The new alignment has a fairly tight curve to get under a flyover so it looks like it might permanently have lost the 90 speed limit.

The widening of Maitland Rd is mostly complete, with only the second Ironbark Creek bridge and approaches to be finished and some finishing work on the concrete pavement section at the Maitland end of the project. The island splitting the traffic coming off the Hexham Bridge has been replaced so as to maintain the status quo favouring traffic turning toward Maitland. The other possibility is it's only in the interim until the M1 extension is open and they'll reinstate the pre-c. 2011 arrangement favouring Newcastle traffic, which is what the (since changed) design drawings show.

[Vincent]

Your last photo reminds me of something not really related to the subject matter at hand, which is that NSW seem to have done away with top caps on their traffic signals altogether. This was starting to happen before I moved away in 2022, but is this established AS now? Or is it just what's available and easy to install?

Cheers,

Vincent

[Michael Faria]

The actual lights are different now too, It looks like they've changed the transparent lenses for translucent ones that scatter the light so that you can't see the individual LEDs. They remind me of the old halogens. NSW is also slowly installing red arrows to protect pedestrians where there isn't a dedicated turn phase.

[davis]

It's a new type of pole. They're square section of a smaller size - comparable to the regular round poles - and sealed on the top. They're bolted to a separate below-ground section which seems to be direct-driven into the ground rather than set into a hole.

On Wednesday, November 12, 2025 at 5:27:17 AM UTC+11 Vincent wrote:

[Vincent Muller]

Interesting, thanks Davis.

Do you know of any reason why they transitioned to these poles? I think NSW is the only jurisdiction to have gone down this route, right?

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[davis]

No idea! They still use the round ones too. There's a steady stream of intersection reconstruction to add turn reds that protect pedestrian movement (and old intersections that aren't wired to allow), and a mix of poles will go in.

[Michael Faria]

There seems to have been a significant change in traffic light design overall. I noticed passing through Hexham that the round lanterns themselves were larger on some traffic lights than others.

[Vincent Muller]

Agree - there was a short period where NSW seemed to abandon 300mm signals and then readopted them. I also like that the newer lenses diffuse the light so you don't see each LED individually; for my money I think the old ones look a bit cheap, like the kind of thing you'd see lighting up the Open sign in a fish & chip shop window.

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[Nihat]

Hopefully they last longer. LEDs should have a longer lifespan but I've seen many extenguished, certainly a lot more noticeable. 

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[Michael Faria]

Yeah, the LEDs were striking and looked cool when they first appeared but they look crap when there's black dots

[Michael Faria]

Okay I was exaggerating when I said "most" signs on Industrial Dr have been replaced but there's still many new ones, some of which are interesting. I haven't taken any photos besides the few I put up on 5/11/25 because unfortunately most don't have anywhere easy to pull over.

• There's a westbound RD on Industrial Dr after the Vine St lights which displays the borderless duplex with a white slash between - " A43 / B63 ", as opposed to the old signs having the bordered alphanumeric cover plates simply butted next to each other.
• Wallsend is still signed as A37 at the Maitland Rd lights.
• RD Maitland-bound [GSV] on Maitland Rd after the NICB lights. Although shrinking the airport down to just the airport symbol makes it much tidier, replacing Hexham with Williamtown and retaining Sydney as destinations is quite odd. If Williamtown gets directed to use the U-turn bay further on then it would make more sense.
  
• The ID facing right-turning traffic coming off the Hexham Bridge has been replaced. Under New England Hwy is says A43 Maitland [and] to M1 Sydney, which makes sense in the short term but once the new motorway is open that right turn will be redundant for all traffic except what has an origin in Tomago or a destination in Beresfield or Tarro via Anderson Dr, so I think Tarro as a destination would have been wise.
• The section of the Pacific Hwy being replaced north from the Hexham Bridge through Heatherbrae is retaining its name without any route number, according to the several new signs that have been put up along it. I was thinking that it might be somewhat confusing for southbound traffic to be seeing signs for both a Pacific Mwy and Pacific Hwy which run parallel and each have major destinations.
• The Raymond Terrace bypass has had a promotion; there's a new northbound RD with a large borderless M1 above.
• There's a green sign near the Anderson Dr interchange Maitland-bound advising traffic for John Renshaw Dr and M1 toward Sydney to "use left 2 lanes", however the bottom part of the sign where it says that is white. There's something similar approaching the Shamrock St lights "Hunter Wetlands Information Centre" (brown top half), "use U-turn bay on side road" (white bottom half). I don't think I've seen white-bottomed signs before.
• The other new signs around the area seem good to me

[Sam L]

• RD Maitland-bound [GSV] on Maitland Rd after the NICB lights. Although shrinking the airport down to just the airport symbol makes it much tidier, replacing Hexham with Williamtown and retaining Sydney as destinations is quite odd. If Williamtown gets directed to use the U-turn bay further on then it would make more sense.

It seems odd, but the distance to the Airport from Sandgate via Hexham or via Kooragang Island is actually very similar, so I don't mind it. Agree Hexham should still be on there though, it will still be a major focal point for wayfinding.

• The section of the Pacific Hwy being replaced north from the Hexham Bridge through Heatherbrae is retaining its name without any route number, according to the several new signs that have been put up along it. I was thinking that it might be somewhat confusing for southbound traffic to be seeing signs for both a Pacific Mwy and Pacific Hwy which run parallel and each have major destinations.

This might be a little tricky immediately after the bypass opening but otherwise it's unfortunately not unusual to see Pacific Mwy/Pacific Hwy and Princes Mwy/Princes Hwy on the same guide signs through Central Coast and Wollongong.

• There's a green sign near the Anderson Dr interchange Maitland-bound advising traffic for John Renshaw Dr and M1 toward Sydney to "use left 2 lanes", however the bottom part of the sign where it says that is white. There's something similar approaching the Shamrock St lights "Hunter Wetlands Information Centre" (brown top half), "use U-turn bay on side road" (white bottom half). I don't think I've seen white-bottomed signs before.

Something like this but with a white instead of red panel?

https://maps.app.goo.gl/jyuHiWF3mstM2VBMA

I have seen something similar but the location escapes me at the moment. Presumably whoever is doing it thinks that it will give greater prominence to the driving instruction compared to the standard upper case letters on green/brown/blue background. All the U-turn bay signs up and down the A1/M1 use white background signs, so perhaps that is the origin of the concept.

[Michael Faria]

Yeah, like the red panel but white instead. I remember all-yellow signs on the Ballina bypass southbound advising Alstonville traffic to use the Bruxner Hwy exit, but they got replaced with regular greens.

I was thinking recently about when they renamed the New England and Pacific Highways to what they are now, had they instead left the Sydney-Hexham section as the Great Northern Hwy. Not only is the name cool in my opinion but the Sydney-Hexham and Hexham-Tweed Heads sections of the Pacific Hwy are quite distinct from one another and probably always have been. Also it'd be comparable to the Great Western Hwy. 

[Nihat]

November flyover

https://youtu.be/VBSwYd7xYbc?si=jJD4llqKt-O9T2mk

On Wed, 19 Nov 2025 at 09:46, AlienChex <harrison...@gmail.com> wrote:

Personally I think Williamtown on all signs should just be replaced with "AIRPORT ✈️"

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[Michael Faria]

Interesting, while they look to have slowed down on the viaduct, given they've done all that since the start of last year I can't see how it would take all of the next two years to finish. That the section around the botanic garden is the furthest from completion is a large part of the reason I suspect they won't open the Heatherbrae bypass early as was originally advertised.

[Nihat]

December Flyer

https://media.caapp.com.au/4oAra62FGbub.pdf

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[AlienChex]

This is progressing really quickly for an Australian road project, I’m impressed. I still think it will be done well before 2028, at least heatherbrae bypass will be 

[Nihat]

Mid 2026 for Heatherbrae per the update but no details about opening it and can't see any potential transition from overhead images

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[Paul0075r]

Nice photos, the 'TO' prefixes on the AD seem a bit off or maybe it's the route numbers are undersized. Either way it spoils the sign aesthetic a bit. The A37 AD is nice though.

[Nihat]

January flyover

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZoxCNEAlbQ

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[Michael Faria]

Very nice. While the Sydney-facing ramps at the Tomago interchange will be of sufficient capacity to allow early opening of the Heatherbrae bypass, the bridge and its approaches over the botanic garden access is clearly some ways off and when it's complete the remaining sections to finish won't be far off either so my current prediction is that they'll open the lot at once.

[Nihat]

Latest flyover very good progress being made

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj_R4kUyl0s

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[AlienChex]

Media release today suggests the ENTIRE bypass will be open by late 2026 - https://www.nationaltribune.com.au/m1-extension-fast-tracked-for-early-opening-with-heatherbrae-bypass-complete/

Well ahead of schedule. I’m glad but hopefully there’s no issues following opening!

[Michael Faria]

Going off the drone videos, it might be open before Coffs!

[Nihat]

Latest flyover

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpNMmnb9yIc

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[Nihat]

July flyover

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUAVFK3NvG8

[Nihat]

Driver animations showing signage

https://caportal.com.au/tfnsw/m1rt/plan-your-drive

Also open day is scheduled for next month which means it will be opening well ahead of schedule

https://caportal.com.au/tfnsw/m1rt/m1-pacific-motorway-extension-to-raymond-terrace-community-open-day

[Michael Faria]

They've got a rare decimal exit AD northbound 2.5 km before the Tomago interchange as well as the southbound Tarro exit AD saying 3 km.

[Sam L]

Feel like I don't need to drive it now after watching those!

Some observations:

1. Northbound there is no signage for Heatherbrae or Raymond Terrace at the Pacific Hwy exit, yet there is services signage for an unspecified destination. That seems like an oversight to me? Raymond Terrace may be tolerable as you can exit at Richardson Road. 
2. These animations are getting so realistic. At 2:33 in the southbound animation they even hid signage behind trees!
3. As we sort of suspected there is no mention of A43 for the Newcastle exit southbound. The focal points are also in the wrong order as Tomago is first.
4. There is one large blank green sign in each direction - perhaps tourist signage that hasn't quite been finalised?
5. They have avoided installing any major signs on the viaduct across the Hunter and floodplain. Hope it doesn't become an issue that there are no signs between the 2.5/3km advance exit signs and the start of the ramps. 
6. Signage on John Renshaw Drive/New England Highway indicates Newcastle Airport via the M1 but I doubt that will actually be any faster than following the existing route across Hexham Bridge and right into Tomago Road, as the route via M1 requires back-tracking via Old Punt Road to reach Tomago Road anyway. RAAF traffic will probably find it quicker to commute via Richardson Road now. 

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From: aussie-...@googlegroups.com <aussie-...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Michael Faria <michael....@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, 30 July 2026 1:01 PM
To: Aussie Highways <aussie-...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [Aussie Highways] Plans and feedback portal for M1 Pacific Mwy extension between Hexham and Raymond Terrace

 

[Michael Faria]

A lot of signs are visible from the existing A1 route. The decimal 2.5 km is a very rare one. It must be an aesthetic choice not to have signs on the viaduct; there's signs on the M4 on the Granville viaduct.