Sydney traffic: Easter holiday delays on M1 improve

Traffic has started to improve after hours of long delays on all major arterial roads back into Sydney as families returned to the city from the Easter holidays.

Traffic conditions have finally started to ease for most holiday-makers heading home to Sydney after 100km queues prompted massive delays at the end of the Easter long weekend.

Commuters bound for Sydney from the north and south of the state now only face delays of up to 25 minutes instead of 45 minutes as bumper-to-bumper traffic begins to let-up.

The gridlock is heaviest eastbound in the Blue Mountains, where commuters are advised to allow 90 minutes of extra travel time. The banked up traffic starts at Hartley before easing around Mount Victoria.

Wait times have been so significant that some fed up holiday-makers stopped to have a picnic on the side of the road.

Motorists are already banked up on the M1 southbound this afternoon.

Conditions have, however, improved in the south, with northbound commuters on the Hume Highway and Princes Highway told to add a half-hour to their trip.

In the north, the log jams have been reduced to a 25 minute wait for those travelling from Mooney Mooney to Wahroonga while conditions have improved significantly on the M1 Pacific Motorway, with only minor delays.

The Transport Management Centre issued a statement urging patience on Monday as Sydneysiders make the trek home from the Easter break.

“Motorists heading home after the Easter Long Weekend are advised to plan ahead and allow plenty of extra travel time, with heavy holiday traffic on major roads returning to Sydney and in some regional areas,” it said.

Southbound traffic on the M1 near Gosford slowed with around 12km of delays at midday.

Two accidents on the M31 earlier slowed northbound traffic from Bingara Gorge to Camden.

Northbound traffic was slow for almost 20km on the M31. There were heavy delays for motorists heading south on the M31 near Campbelltown.

Around 10am this morning a B-double semi trailer rolled over at Punchbowl Road, Wiley Park causing extensive delays.

Fire and Rescue NSW crew on the scene at Punchbowl Road, Wiley Park, where the B-double semi-trailer rolled over.

The truck, carrying two shipping containers full of plywood, rolled near the intersection with King Georges Road, forcing the closure of Punchbowl Road in both directions.

The rollover caused a significant fuel spill which Fire and Rescue NSW crews rendered safe by applying a foam cover before using specialist materials to absorb the fuel. Fortunately, the driver of the truck was unharmed.

Cars queued up on Parramatta Road in Ashfield. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

SYDNEY

• Southbound traffic is heavy on the M1 Pacific Motorway between Berowra and Wahroonga.
• Northbound traffic on the Princes Highway is heavy between Waterfall and Heathcote.
• Northbound traffic on the Hume Motorway is heavy from Yanderra to Menangle.
• An earlier southbound crash on the Hume Motorway in Mount Annan has been cleared.
• An earlier truck rollover on Punchbowl Road in Wiley Park has been cleared and the road has reopened in both directions.

Drivers experienced delays on King Georges Road, Wiley Park after a truck lost its load of metal. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

ILLAWARRA AND SHOALHAVEN

• Northbound traffic is heavy on the Princes Highway between Nowra and Meroo Meadow, adding at least 15 minutes extra travel time.

HUNTER AND CENTRAL COAST

• Southbound traffic is heavy on the Pacific Highway approaching the Hexham Bridge from Heatherbrae, adding at least an extra 15 minutes travel time.
• There is also some heavy traffic on the New England Highway between Hexham and Beresfield.
• Southbound traffic on the M1 Pacific Motorway is heavy between Morisset and Warnervale and between Somersby and Brooklyn, adding at least 45 minutes extra travel time.

BLUE MOUNTAINS

• Eastbound traffic is heavy from Hartley to Blackheath on the Great Western Highway due to heavy holiday traffic and an earlier medical emergency at Mount Victoria, adding at least 40 minutes extra travel time.