Qld traffic gridlock as people flee Brisbane before coronavirus lockdown

Traffic is banked up for 40km along a Queensland highway and motorways are at a standstill with fears people are fleeing Brisbane before lockdown.

Southeast Queensland’s major motorways are at a standstill with fears Greater Brisbane residents are fleeing the city to avoid a three-day lockdown.

There are traffic snarls along the Bruce Highway between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast and south on the Pacific Motorway to the Gold Coast.

Traffic snarl as Brisbane residents flee a three-day lockdown: Picture Channel 7

Head of Nine Traffic Network Olympia Kwitowski said the roads were unusually clogged for a Friday in early January when school holidays were still in full swing.

She said the traffic was extremely heavy over a 40km stretch of the Bruce Highway northbound.

“It’s busier than Christmas, especially Boxing Day when people hit the road,” Ms Kwitowski told NCA / NewsWire.

“It’s not normally this heavy for this time of year or this time of day.

“You don’t normally see that much traffic on the Bruce Highway until about 4pm and it’s only just after 2.30pm.”

Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath has slammed Brisbane residents who are fleeing lockdown, saying they could spread the virus to other parts of the state: Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath slammed residents for the mass exodus following a lockdown that starts at 6pm on Friday and ends 6pm on Monday.

Residents in Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan, Moreton Bay and Redlands council areas will be confined to their homes for 72 hours.

They will only be permitted to leave home to attend work, shop for essentials, seek medical help, provide essential care and exercise.

Brisbane residents have been accused of a mass exodus ahead of a three day lockdown starting at 6pm. Picture: Channel 7

The drastic measures have been brought in to stymie the spread of a mutant, highly contagious strain of COVID-19 from the UK that has been contracted by a cleaner at a hotel used to quarantine international travellers.

“It would be completely irresponsible for people to be jumping in their cars to get out of greater Brisbane,” Ms D’Ath told NCA / NewsWire.

“Do they want to be responsible for potentially spreading this deadly new strain when they know that staying at home can save lives.”

The traffic is banked up for a 40 kilometre section of the Brice Highway on Friday as Brisbane residents lee the state. Picture: ABC News

Anyone trying to enter the Sunshine Coast area after 6pm on Friday from Greater Brisbane could expect to be pulled over and possibly fined, Sunshine Coast District Officer Superintendent Craig Hawkins said.

He said there would not be road blocks but instead a “heightened” police presence on major arterial roads and other access points across the council boundaries.

“You will see a very strong presence on the roads … we will be stopping vehicles,” Superintendent Hawkins said.

“There highway is a principle one (entry point) but there are a number of other entry points from Brisbane we will be monitoring.”

Sunshine Coast Superintendent Craig Hawkins says there will be heightened police presence along the Sunshine Coast ‘border’. Picture: Supplied

An RACQ representative said there were reports traffic was moving about 40km/h along the Bruce Highway where the speed limit in sections reaches 110km/h before 6pm.

“There have been significant delays on the Bruce Highway today between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast for motorists heading northbound,” the representative said.

“Some members told us they were either stopped for part of the journey or only doing speeds of just 40km/h.

“We suspect a lot of people who would normally travel to the coast for the weekend have decided to leave earlier due to the impending lockdown, which has also been compounded by the wet weather and a number of crashes between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.

“The congestion started before midday, which is much earlier than we would normally expect to see on a Friday, even in wet weather conditions.”

And it’s not just Brisbane residents fleeing that city that has created the traffic nightmare.

Ms Kwitowski said there was an unusually high amount of traffic heading into Brisbane from both the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast.

She said there was a 37km stretch of traffic along the Bruce Highway heading southbound.

“I’ve hardly ever seen hardly traffic like this in both directions,” she said.

“The (Pacific Motorway) has been clogged in both directions and the Bruce Highway is usually clogged northbound, but not in both directions

“I think everyone might be coming back from the Sunshine Coast early.”