Pacific Highway Memories

I spent ten years there as one of the local coppers, '75 to '85.
Still miss the place every time I drive past on the freeway.

They have started putting in two extra lanes on the Gold Coast bypass section which should make a big difference. The Gold Coast to Brisbane section has ongpoing work to put in extra lanes as well..

When you have the third and sixth largest cities in Australia touching each other the "Highway" also has to carry a huge local traffic component.

With a million migrants a year we will NEVER catch up fully.

mammoth wrote:

Coffs bypass is under construction, however any gains are lost with the increased traffic causing jams at the Qld border. Then there is still the chaos of getting past Newcastle.

They had started the Hexham bypass last time  I was down that way.
caportal.com.au/tfnsw/m1rt

Only last week we were near the Northbridge bridge at Tunks Park for a bush trail walk to see a ship wreck. From tge oval I took this pic of tge tower in tge distance.

My Mother's Father was a stonemason and he worked on the Northbridge bridge.

I drive the highway Sydney/Tweed Heads every 6 or 8 weeks to visit my Mother. over the last 30 years it's amazing the difference it has made to the trip. I think it would be 6-8 hours faster now then when I first made the journey in 1965.

I told my Mum on Wednesday, you have to live to 103 so I can use the Coffs and Heatherbrae bypasses. She'salmost 99.

Hope she gets to see it then.
The drive Sydney to Taree lost 4 hours alone since 1963
 

Top of Cheero Point climb, 1965 my parents and grand parents having a break beside the Pacific Hwy.Me (2 ish)  in the back seat.

 

Top of Cheero Point climb same place 2023 Old Pacific Hwy.

 

We all know these places on the old Hwy.

 

 

Rockwiz

What a great family photo of an era long gone.

You loaded in the over the seat back hook chair ready to be slingshotted through the windscreen. How come we are all still here?

Any time they left the house Grandad would have a tie and jacket on and Grandma would have her perm and pearls.

Look at the picnic! Real crockery, fruit in bowls. All prepared at home the night before.  Not a MacDonalds or KFC wrapper in sight.

Once, a long time ago, people had standards.

Yep, vaguely remember trips Adelaide/Sydney, crossing the interminable Hay Plains. Grandad was a train driver so stops were scheduled in a similar style, with the 12v kettle hooked up to the battery for a cuppa.