M1 north and southbound from Brisbane as traffic times blow out on Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast stretches of highway

Don’t expect to get anywhere fast this afternoon as would-be holidaymakers report sitting in a “highway car park” as commuters crawl towards their Easter holiday destination.

Traffic has slowed to a crawl across several major South East Queensland arterials this afternoon, with the M1, Bruce and Centenary highways all experiencing congestion and motorists reporting a “highway carpark”.

Traffic remains heavy on the M1, with significant delays between Springwood and Nerang, southbound, and northbound from Pimpama to Springwood.

There is currently about a 30 minute delay between Robina and Varsity Lakes, southbound.

Multi-vehicle crashes are beginning to occur on already bumper to bumper highways.

Two crashes have also occurred northbound on the M1, one at Upper Coomera and one at Ormeau, causing a 35 minute delay on the highway between Gaven and Ormeau with lanes reduced.

Traffic backed up on the M1 southbound on Thursday afternoon. Picture: 9GoldCoast

Meanwhile, up to 50 minute delays are also being reported on the Centenary Motorway at Gallies and the M2 at Carole Park.

Drivers on the Bruce Hwy have reported sitting in a “highway carpark” this afternoon as commuters crawl towards their Easter holiday destination.

Delays of up to 45 minutes have been reported for those heading up the Bruce Highway from Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast.

“Welcome to the Bruce Highway Carpark,” one commuter posted to social media.

The same stretch was impacted by southbound delays earlier this afternoon after a two-vehicle crash at North Lakes.

The centre and right lanes of the highway were closed as police, firefighters and paramedics responded to the incident.

Meanwhile, trains on the Sunshine Coast line between Landsborough and Nambour were also supended for a time after a train struck a tree.

A Translink spokesperson said rail buses were brought in to replace train services and commuters were told they could experience delays of up to 90 minutes.

Services are now back up and running.