Sydney-Newcastle Freeway

Sydney-Newcastle Freeway
Basic data
Operator:	Roads and Maritime Services
Start of the street:	Pacific Highway New England Highway Beresfield ( NSW ) ( 32 ° 48 '  S , 151 ° 38'  O )
End of street:	Pacific Highway Cumberland Highway Wahroonga ( Sydney ) ( VIC ) ( 33 ° 43 ′  S , 151 ° 6 ′  E )
Overall length:	127 km
States :	New South Wales
View from Berowra to the north

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap

The Sydney – Newcastle Freeway is a motorway in the east of the Australian state of New South Wales . It connects the capital Sydney with the Pacific Highway and the New England Highway near Newcastle . The road is part of the AusLink Corridor between Sydney and Brisbane and is designated National Road 1.

In the plans, the motorway is often shown as an F3 freeway , but this should not be confused with the street numbering as national road 1 or M1.

course

The highway begins on Pennant Hills Road in Wahroonga , a northern neighborhood of Sydney, not far from its junction with the Pacific Highway (Met-1, S83). It then enters Ku-ring-gai-Chase National Park and descends towards the valley of the Hawkesbury River . She crosses the river at Kangaroo Point and enters Brisbane Water National Park . At Calga , the freeway turns east to cross Mooney Mooney Creek on the 480 m long and 75 m high Mooney Mooney Bridge .

After Kariong , the freeway turns north again, while the Pacific Highway continues east through Gosford and the Central Coast lagoons . The freeway ends 2 km southwest of Beresfield . To the east, the New England Highway (N15) continues to Muswellbrook and Tamworth , while the Pacific Highway runs as R1 to the north, along the coast, or as S111 to the southeast to Newcastle city center, approx. 17 km from the end of the motorway.

Landscape character

Between Wahroonga and Ourimbah, the freeway leads through wild sandstone country, especially when descending and ascending into and from the valley of the Hawkesbury River. The wooded area in the national parks is characterized by deep valley cuts with steep slopes. The motorway then leads through flat land in the hinterland of the lagoon coast .

Crossings and junctions

Distances of cities on the freeway (and Brisbane) from Sydney

View from Berowra to the south

Drive south on the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway, just before the Mooney Mooney Bridge

Newcastle Link Road bridge over the freeway

Sydney - Newcastle Freeway
Connections to the north	Distance from Sydney CBD	Connections to the south
Roundabout (clockwise from the highway) John Renshaw Drive to Kurri Kurri (10 miles) and Cessnock (30 km) Weakleys Drive ( New England Highway ) to Maitland (14 km) and Brisbane (836 km) John Renshaw Drive ( Pacific Highway ) to Newcastle (22 km), Taree (160 km) and Brisbane (784 km)
End of Sydney - Newcastle Freeway		Begins Sydney - Newcastle Freeway
no exit	149	BLACK HILL INTERSECTION Lenaghan, Minmi Lenaghans Drive
NEWCASTLE INTERSECTION Wallsend, Newcastle Newcastle Link Road	140	NEWCASTLE INTERSECTION Wallsend, Newcastle Newcastle Link Road
WEST WALLSEND INTERSECTION West Wallsend, Seahampton, Cardiff George Booth Drive	139	no exit
AWABA INTERSECTION Awaba, Toronto Palmers Road	126	AWABA INTERSECTION Awaba, Toronto Palmers Road
FREEMANS WATERHOLE CROSSING Kurri Kurri , Cessnock Freemans Drive	122	no exit
MORISSET INTERSECTION Morisset, Cooranbong Mandalong Road	109	MORISSET INTERSECTION Morisset, Cooranbong, Doyalson Mandalong Road
WALLARAH-CREEK JUNCTION Budgewoi, Swansea, Charlestown Motorway Link to Pacific Highway	98	no exit
WARNERVALE INTERSECTION Wyee, Toukley, Warnervale Sparks Road	95	WARNERVALE INTERSECTION Wyee, Toukley, Warnervale Sparks Road
Caltex Service Center	91	Caltex Service Center
TUGGERAH INTERSECTION Tuggerah, Wyong , The Entrance Wyong Road	86	TUGGERAH INTERSECTION Tuggerah, Wyong , The Entrance Wyong Road
OURIMBAH INTERSECTION Ourimbah, Palmdale Pacific Highway	80	OURIMBAH INTERSECTION Ourimbah, Palmdale, University of Newcastle Central Coast Campus Pacific Highway
SOMERSBY INTERSECTION Somersby, Peats Ridge, Wisemans Ferry Peats Ridge Road	74	SOMERSBY INTERSECTION Somersby, Peats Ridge, Wisemans Ferry Peats Ridge Road
KARIONG JUNCTION Kariong, Gosford , Woy Woy, Terrigal Central Coast Highway	67	KARIONG JUNCTION Kariong, Gosford , Woy Woy, Terrigal Central Coast Highway
CALGA JUNCTION Calga, Peats Ridge, Peats Ridge Road , Pacific Highway	60	CALGA JUNCTION Calga, Peats Ridge, Peats Ridge Road , Pacific Highway
MOUNT WHITE INTERSECTION Mount White Pacific Highway	55	MOUNT WHITE INTERSECTION Mount White Pacific Highway
HAWKESBURY RIVER JUNCTION Mooney Mooney and Brooklyn Pacific Highway	47	HAWKESBURY RIVER JUNCTION Mooney Mooney and Brooklyn Pacific Highway
Hawkesbury River
no exit	37	BEROWRA CROSSING Berowra Pacific Highway
WINDYBANKS INTERSECTION Berowra Pacific Highway	33	no exit
MOUNT-COLAH JUNCTION Mount Colah, Bobbin Head Ku-ring-gai Chase Road	27	no exit
Start Sydney - Newcastle Freeway End Start	23	WAHROONGA INTERSECTION Hornsby , Sydney Pacific Highway
		End of Sydney - Newcastle Freeway further than Cumberland Highway to Parramatta and Canberra

history

Planning for the freeway began in 1952 with the aim of creating a high-speed highway to replace the corresponding section of the Pacific Highway, built between 1925 and 1930, which was no longer able to cope with the growing traffic. The new freeway was to be connected to the two urban motorway systems of Sydney and Newcastle.

The section between Mount White and Kariong was originally supposed to run further south than today's route, so that Mooney Mooney Creek could have been overcome more easily. However, when construction of this section was due to begin, the objection of the National Park and Wildlife Service forced the Department of Main Roads to choose the route through Calga via part of the first section of the proposed freeway to Singleton . This section was created in the 1960s, but the entire stretch of this freeway was never built.

The route through the Wyong Shire has also been changed. Rather than east of Wyong , along the Tuggerah Lakes, urban development in the area forced the freeway onto a route west of Wyong. In addition, a connection road to the Pacific Highway in Doyalson had to be built.

In addition, the plans were revised so that the freeway ran west of Lake Macquarie instead of east and thus led around Newcastle. One of the reasons for this route choice was the need to connect to the Pacific Highway north of the city. The (existing) bypass of the inner city would otherwise have been a continuation of the freeway and a connection to its northern end point in Sandgate on the Pacific Highway would have been difficult.

The most important stages in the construction of the freeway were:

• April 1963 - Construction began on the 7 km stretch from the Hawkesbury River to Mount White. It was opened to traffic as a toll road in December 1965.
• October 1966 - Mount White to Calga section opened (including the first section of the proposed freeway to the New England Highway in Singleton)
• December 1968 - The section from Berowra to the Hawkesbury River opens as a toll road
• October 1973 - Completion of the freeway bridge over the Hawkesbury River, connecting the two sections of Berowra-Hawkesbury River and Hawkesbury River-Calga. At that time, the separate tolls for the two sections of AU- $ - .20 each were abolished and a joint toll of AU- $ - .50 was levied. This was to be paid at the toll booth in Berowra; the Mooney toll booth Mooney has been dismantled. In 1990 the entire toll was abolished by the government, as the rule was introduced that state-subsidized roads had to be toll-free.
• December 1983 - Joint opening of the Somersby to Ourimbah and Kangy Angy to Wallarah sections. In addition, the two-lane connecting road to the Pacific Highway in Doyalson was opened to traffic.
• December 1986 - Inauguration of the 15km Calga to Somersby section, including the Mooney Mooney Bridge
• March 1989 - opening of the section from Wahroonga to Berowra
• September 1987 - Completion of the freeway from the junction of Wallarah Creek to the junction of Mandalong Road.
• March 1988 - Completion of the freeway from the intersection of Mandalong Road to the intersection of Freemans Waterhole.
• December 1990 - Completion of the freeway from Freemans Waterhole junction to Palmer's Road junction.
• December 1993 - Completion of the freeway from the intersection of Palmer's Road to Minmi.
• December 1997 - The missing section between Ourimbah and Kangy Angy is opened.
• November 1998 - The last stretch from Minmi to the John Renshaw Drive junction in Beresfield opens.
• December 2004 - Completion of the six-lane expansion of the four-lane section from the Hawkesbury River to Calga.
• November 2009 - Completion of the expansion to six lanes of the four-lane section from Wahroonga to the Hawkesbury River - Thus the entire route from Wahroonga to Kariong is six-lane. This work was carried out in three construction phases: From Cowan to Berowra (3.4 km, Sept. 2008), from Berowra to Mount Ku-ring-gai (4.9 km, Sept. 2009) and from Mount Ku-ring-gai to Mount Colah (4.2 km, Nov. 2009).

Expansion and proposed connections

Test drilling in preparation for the construction of the Hunter Expressway

Strong public resistance to the construction of freeways in cities and negative results of government inquiries in the 1970s led to the cancellation of a number of freeway construction projects in the Sydney area. This also affected the North-Western Expressway through the valley of the Lane Cove River , with which the six-lane Pacific Highway is still the connection between the south end of the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway in Wahroonga and the city center of Sydney.

Still, there are plans to extend the freeway on both sides of the F3 corridor:

• In Sydney, a connection is to be created from the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway to the WestLink and thus to the Hume Highway .
• The connection between Hexham and Raymond Terrace on the Pacific Highway over the Hunter River behind Newcastle is to be expanded.
• In Seahampton , the Hunter Expressway is to branch off the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway to the northwest and create a fast (motorway) connection to Branxton on the New England Highway. The construction of this connection has already started and should be completed in 2013.

Traffic obstructions

Unlike the Pacific Highway, whose role the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway has taken over in its area, it is the only direct high-speed link between Sydney and the Central Coast . It is the main freight route between the Hunter Valley region , northern New South Wales and Queensland on the one hand and Sydney on the other. This is why a lot of work and freight traffic and occasionally holiday and leisure traffic are handled on the freeway. Traffic obstructions are frequent and are caused by increased traffic, vehicle breakdowns, accidents and natural disasters - especially forest fires.

In addition, the traffic on the freeway is often slowed down by vehicle accidents, often involving trucks. These accidents led to a recommendation by the NSW Automobile Club that more cargo should be shifted onto the railroad, thereby reducing the number of trucks on the freeway.

Over the past few decades, forest fires have frequently closed the freeway and the nearby Northern Railroad, as well as the Pacific Highway between Sydney and the Hawkesbury River. This was e.g. B. on 21./22. The case occurred on January 1st, 2007 when a fire broke out in Ku-ring-gai-Chase National Park. The closure of all three routes between Sydney and the Central Coast resulted in traffic delays across the region.

Because of the frequency of these events, a second major freeway from Sydney to the north is repeatedly required. The nature of the terrain and the resulting costs rule out such a solution. At most, a river crossing at Wisemans Ferry , about 30 km upstream from today's bridge, would be conceivable.

Because of complaints about major delays due to accidents and closures, NSW's Road Traffic Administration has developed an AU $ 28 million emergency plan. a. includes the establishment of 40 km / h two-way traffic routes to guide traffic around accident sites.

Traffic volume

The daily averaged daily traffic figures from the NSW road traffic authority showed a decrease in this traffic volume at the southern end of the route in Wahroonga. In 2002 there were 78,600 vehicles on the road every day, in 2005 there were only 76,600 and in 2006 only 75,800.

The corresponding 2004 numbers for other sections of the freeway are 73,400 vehicles at Mooney Mooney, 60,100 at Wyong, 38,500 at Wyee, 27,000 at Freemans Waterhole and 33,000 at the north end of the freeway in Beresfield.

Web links

• Sydney-Newcastle Freeway . Ozroads
• Traffic cameras on the F3 corridor

source

• Steve Parish: Australian Touring Atlas . Steve Parish Publishing. Archerfield QLD 2007, ISBN 978-1-74193-232-4 , pp. 22, 23, 25.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Sydney-Newcastle Freeway . NSW Roads and Traffic Authority. June 20, 2006. Archived from the original on March 2, 2008. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 9, 2008. 
2. ^ Mary Boson & Nicole Taylor: Motorists Rejoice as Bypass Opens . The Sydney Morning Herald, March 23, 1989
3. ↑ RTA F3 Project Information ( Memento of the original from June 15, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
4. ↑ AusLink Sydney Brisbane Corridor Strategy . P. 15 ( Memento of the original dated August 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. Jump up ↑ Faulks, IJ, Irwin, JD, Tynan, D., Dabbas, WM, Sweedler, B. & Stewart, K ​​.: Motorways and heavy vehicle safety: The F3 Sydney - Newcastle Freeway. Template for the seminar of the NSW Department of Emergency Services on F3 Freeway Heavy Vehicle Safety and Emergency Management in Berowra (NSW). June 27, 2009
6. ↑ F3 closed: Third smash in four days. ABC News, February 1, 2008
7. ↑ Truckies 'not to blame' for F3 problems. The Age, January 31, 2008 ( Memento of the original from February 3, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
8. ↑ Trucks face ban on F3 Highway to Hell . Daily Telegraph, Jan. 31, 2008
9. ↑ ^{a b} Pearlman review of F3 to M7 Corridor Selection , August 2007 ( Memento of the original from September 17, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 5.1 MB) 
10. ↑ Truck smash causes freeway frustration. Sydney Morning Herald, January 30, 2008
11. ↑ RTA bungled truck inferno reaction . ABC News. January 30, 2008
12. ↑ F3 Freeway emergency traffic management plan ( Memento of the original from July 1, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
13. ↑ NSW RTA AADT for Northern region including Hunter, 2004 ( Memento of the original from August 5, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.