Coffs Harbour readies for life after regional city is bypassed by new $2.2 billion section of Pacific Motorway

Regional city Coffs Harbour is on the front foot for post-bypass life, determined not to be caught with its pants down like other centres carved off from the Pacific Motorway.

Up for the challenge: Coffs Harbour mayor Paul Amos and councillor George Cecato.

Wheels are turning in Coffs Harbour to ensure the city remains a regional powerhouse once it’s off the main drag as progress fires up on the $2.2 billion Coffs Bypass.

A progress works ‘report card’ has just been released and the project is forging forward, with plans to open to traffic in 2026 and to polish off the project the following year.

The new road – the most expensive infrastructure project of all time for Coffs – will remove the last traffic pinchpoint for motorists on the Pacific Highway between Hexham and the Queensland border.

The bypass will skirt west of Coffs, and enable through-traffic to avoid the dozen or so sets of traffic lights on the current highway which runs through the city centre.

Other cities and towns to have been bypassed as the new dual carriageway rolled out have had a mixed experience.

First bridge piles at the England Rd interchange on the Coffs Bypass project.

When Taree was cut-off, the council had to spend a motza rejuvenating its riverside retail strip which withered post-bypass.

At Kempsey, the council there embarked on a major upgrade of public street works to prepare the town for post-bypass life.

The $2.2 billion Coffs Harbour Bypass is taking shape.

So too did Nambucca Valley Council spend up large re-imagining the township of Macksville, before it was flanked by the new Phillip Hughes Bridge.

Progressive Coffs Harbour is doing everything it can to ensure it is best placed when the 24/7 conga line of B-doubles no longer rumbles through town.

The Korora Hill interchange being built.

To that end, the city is putting together a high-powered Highway Bypass Integration Committee.

It will be chaired by councillor George Cecato and include representatives from the big end of town, including Park Beach Plaza, Gowings, Pacific Bay Resort (Russell Crowe’s film studios’ vision), the local chamber of commerce and Transport for NSW.

The new section of the Pacific Motorway is expected to open to traffic in late 2026, and be completed in 2027.

The committee’s brief is to ensure the “highway structures sit lightly on the landscape and the entry points are welcoming with the use art, vegetation, architecture and imagination to achieve this”.

City of Coffs Harbour Mayor Paul Amos said the plan was to secure a “soft landing” for Coffs from both a business and tourism perspective.

Luke Hartsuyker: “It’s going to be interesting.”

“We want to be fully ready by the time the ribbon is cut to open the bypass and welcome people to our beautiful city,” Mr Cecato said.

Having previously headed the local business chamber and the Coffs Harbour Tourism Association, he is well placed to understand the challenge and opportunities presented by the bypass.

Work underway between Buchanans Rd and North Boambee Rd.

“We’re optimistic. We’re getting ready. We don’t want to get caught out like other cities have been,” Mr Cecato said.

“We will hopefully be well ahead of the curve.”

George Cecato: “We want to be fully ready.”

Longtime local businessman and former federal member for the seat of Cowper, Luke Hartsuyker, is also a knowledgeable voice.

The Hartsuyker family has operated The Clog Barn tourist attraction and caravan park in the heart of Coffs on the current highway since the mid-’80s.

An aerial view between Bruxner Park Rd and West Korora Rd.

“It’s going to be interesting. There will certainly be an impact but the Clog Barn and caravan park is pretty much a destination so it’s wait and see,” Mr Hartsuyker said.

Ideally placed halfway between Sydney and Brisbane, Coffs Harbour is likely to benefit from its location as motorists look to break the drive between the capital cities.

“It (the bypass) will certainly bring different times but the traffic flows (through town) will be broadly similar as there’s growth in traffic all the time,” he said.

Coffs has also benefited from the Covid years which saw a domestic travel boom, particularly along the NSW North Coast.

“There was a strong Covid (tourism) surge though that has eased somewhat,” Mr Hartsuyker said.

“But business is very strong at the moment and airfares (for overseas travel) are still high.”