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Pacific Highway – Ground Hog Day

The Pacific Highway on the north coast of NSW has been voted the state’s worst road for the fifth year running, according to almost 8,000 people surveyed by the National Roads and Motorists’ Association (NRMA) in its annual Seeing Red on Roads campaign. Motorists nominated two sites notorious for their congestion: Chatswood in northern Sydney and the highway as it passes through the centre of Coffs Harbour. NRMA’s deputy president, Wendy Machin said significant progress had been made on the upgrade of the Pacific Highway and the NRMA expects it to fall off the top of the list after the work is completed in 2020. “However,” Ms Machin said, “the highway is not the only road of significance of the north coast, as shown by the survey results. “Regional and local roads are used daily by tens of thousands of north coast residents and visitors. “It’s not enough to complete the duplication and consider that work on the north coast is done. “The region is highly urbanised and is also a tourist Mecca and this, as well as higher rainfall, means our local roads are subject to unusual wear. “Good work is being done but, against that, councils on the north and mid-north coast have the state’s biggest road maintenance backlogs. “NRMA believes part of a solution is to direct a greater proportion of the fuel excise back into roads.” For more information on the NRMA’s Seeing Red on Roads 2015 results, see: mynrma.com.au/redflag