SEQ motorists told to ‘pack your patience’ as families return from long weekend

Southeast Queensland highways were once again backed up for hours on Sunday, as hundreds of families returned from Ekka long weekend holidays.

Southeast Queensland highways were once again backed up for hours today, as hundreds of holidaying families returned at the end of the Ekka long weekend.

Scenes similar to that of Friday’s traffic standstill appeared across parts of the Bruce Highway this morning before intensifying just after midday, with some commuters likening smaller roads near Gympie and Woodford as “carparks”.

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Traffic was still slow-moving as late as 5.45pm Sunday, with pictures from the The Courier-Mail capturing a seemingly infinite sea of cars travelling through Burpengary towards Brisbane.

Traffic heading from the Sunshine Coast along the Bruce Highway through Burpengary Sunday afternoon. Picture: Richard Walker

Stranded motorists also took to social media to tell of their horror stories, with one commenter revealing it took them nearly three hours to travel from Coolum to Brisbane’s south.

“What is normally a 1.5 trip from Coolum to (Brisbane) southside took me 3 hours and I left at 11am. I was diverted through to Caloundra and via Australia Zoo back roads,” one wrote.

Another shared scenes of the back roads west of Woodford, likening the single lane roadways to a “carpark.”

Traffic along the Bruce Highway reached its peak after midday Sunday, with congestion reported all the way from Caloundra to Burpengary. It remained heavy until about 5.45pm. Picture Google

The RACQ had warned motorists Sunday morning they’d be needing to “pack their patience” if they were hitting the motorways.

You'll need to pack your patience if you're driving back to Brisbane from the Sunshine Coast today! #QldTraffic pic.twitter.com/2EAqkZruqo

— RACQ (@RACQOfficial) August 16, 2020

The backlog of local long weekend tourists was expected to deliver a massive windfall for Queensland tourism, with $500 million predicted to be delivered to the state’s tourism industry as a result of the three days.

Queensland Tourism Industry Council CEO Daniel Gschwind said it was a long-overdue piece of good news for operators reeling from the most challenging of circumstances.

“The bookings we are seeing are extraordinary,” he said.

“It’s nice to see a bit of sunshine after all the doom and gloom and we’re ready to get out there and enjoy it.”

The highway mayhem also came as Ambulance crews attend multiple serious traffic incidents across the South East, with paramedics transporting four patients, one in a critical condition, to various hospitals.