M1 Motorway faces rising freight congestion in New South Wales

Freight levels on roads in New South Wales have increased by 87 per cent since 2001, according to figures from Infrastructure Australia. This growth is driven primarily by interstate truck movements between Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne, rather than metropolitan or intra-state transport.

The M1 Motorway, particularly the stretch between Newcastle and Sydney, faces significant congestion due to heavy vehicles such as B-doubles, bulk carriers, semi-trailers, and tankers. Specific bottlenecks have been identified at inclines between Ourimbah and Somersby, Mooney Mooney, and Hawkesbury to Kuring-Gai, where heavy vehicles often form slow-moving processions in the left lanes.