PACIFIC HIGHWAY (NSW)
State Highway No. 10
Pacific Highway heading south near Bulahdelah. Aug 2004.
Length: 889km
Northern Terminus: NSW/QLD Border, Tweed Heads Bypass
Southern Terminus: Warringah Fwy & Bradfield Hwy, North Sydney
Route Markers: National Route 1 (Hexham to QLD), State Route 111 (Doyalson to Hexham), State Route 83 (Wahroonga to Doyalson), Metroad 1 (Artarmon to Wahroonga), Metroad 10 (Crows Nest to Artarmon)
Interstate Continuation: There is a Pacific Highway in QLD, however it does not connect to the NSW Pacific Hwy any longer. This will be rectified when the Tugun Bypass is completed. Signage along the Gold Coast Hwy at Bilinga and Tugun shows the Pacific Highway name for continuity, as it is the major through route.
RTA Internal Classification: State Highway No. 10
Proclaimed a State Highway: 7th August 1928 (named North Coast Highway)
Named Pacific Hwy: May 1931
The Pacific Highway, State Highway No. 10, begins at the intersection of the Bradfield Highway, Warringah Freeway and High Street at North Sydney, extending about 900km to the Queensland Border at Tweed Heads, although since November 1996 there are two small gaps on the Central Coast. The route of the Pacific Highway in New South Wales is thus: From the Warringah Freeway, North Sydney via Hornsby and Peat’s Ferry Bridge to the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway at Calga Interchange; thence from the intersection of Mann Street & Etna Street, Gosford via Narara, Lisarow, Ourimbah, Tuggerah, Wyong, Doyalson, Swansea, Belmont, Charlestown, City Road, Stewart Ave, Hunter St, Maitland Rd, Hexham, Raymond Terrace, Karuah Bypass, Bulahdelah, Taree Bypass, Moorland, Kew, Telegraph Point, Kempsey, Frederickton, Clybucca, Eungai Creek, Warrell Creek, Macksville, Urunga, Coffs Harbour, Woolgoolga, South Grafton, Ulmarra, Tynedale, Maclean Bypass, Woodburn, Wardell, Ballina, Bangalow Bypass, Brunswick Heads Bypass, Yelgun-Chinderah Freeway and Chinderah Bypass to the Queensland Border on the Tweed Heads Bypass.
Between August 1946 and January 1989 the Pacific Highway had a spur – State Highway No. 10A – which consisted of King Street, Newcastle, between Stewart Ave and Darby Street. This spur has since been incorporated into Main Road No. 188.
The Pacific Highway carries no number between the Warringah Freeway and Crows Nest Junction, the Metroad 10 shield from there to Gore Hill Freeway, the Metroad 1 shield thence to Pearce’s Corner, the State Route 83 shield from Pearce’s Corner to Motorway Line at Doyalson, the State Route 111 from there to Hexham and the National Route 1 shield for the remainder of the route in New South Wales. The Highway is under the control of Gosford City Council between Mooney Mooney and Calga, while the remainder of the Highway is a state responsibility.
Brief History of the Pacific Highway as a legal entity:
On 7 August 1928 the newly-formed Main Roads Board proclaimed the main North Coast road, running from Hexham through Gloucester, Taree, Port Macquarie, Kempsey, Macksville, Nambucca Heads, Coffs Harbour, South Grafton, Maclean, Woodburn, Ballina, Bangalow, Byron Bay, Mullumbimby, and Murwillumbah to Tweed Heads, State Highway No. 10 and named it ‘North Coast Highway’. The Highway was renamed ‘Pacific Highway’ in May 1931, following Queensland naming their section of the Brisbane-Sydney coastal route Pacific Hwy, and it was extended south from Hexham to North Sydney. The section south of Hexham was previously part of State Highway No. 9 – Great Northern (now New England) Highway.
Two major changes in the alignment of the highway have occurred, that did not involve the construction of a deviation.
On 29 May 1931, the route of the highay was altered to take a direct route between Bangalow and Ewingsdale, via St Helena Hill. This would shorten the highway by 9km, as the former route was circuitous and passed through Byron Bay.
On 9 March 1945 the Pacific Highway was again altered, this time between Tyagarah and Billinudgel. A new route via Brunswick Heads replaced the former alignment through Mullumbimby and along Coolamon Scenic Drive.
Two smaller changes also took place in much more recent times, making the Pacific Highway no longer a continuous legal entity from North Sydney to the Queensland Border.
On 22 November 1996 two gaps were created in the Pacific Highway on the Central Coast, with the decommissioning of the following sections: Calga Interchange to Kariong Interchange; and from Brian McGowan Bridge to Etna Street, Gosford.
On 11 August 2006 the short section of highway that remained between Kariong Interchange and Brian McGowan Bridge was reclassified as part of the newly-proclaimed Central Coast Highway (State Highway No. 30), thus creating one gap approximately 12km long.
Other changes to the Highway alignment have been due to the construction of bypasses, deviations and river crossings and are covered in the pages below. The development of the Pacific Highway is also divided into the respective route marker pages.
Explore the Pacific Highway:
Click HERE to see the un-numbered section of the Pacific Hwy (Crows Nest-North Sydney)
Click HERE to see the Metroad 10 section of Pacific Hwy
Click HERE to see the Metroad 1 section of Pacific Hwy
Click HERE to see the State Route 83 section of Pacific Hwy
Click HERE to see the State Route 111 section of Pacific Hwy
Click HERE to see the National Route 1 section of Pacific Hwy
Last updated 22 March 2007 © Ozroads 2004-2007. |