M1 Pacific Motorway Upgrades

From Monday 20 February to Thursday 23 February 2023, the motorway will be closed at night between the Hunter Expressway interchange and John Renshaw Drive to carry out essential maintenance.

Southbound motorists will be affected Monday and Tuesday, northbound motorists will be affected Wednesday and Thursday. View the full closure details (PDF, 186.53 KB) and detour map (PDF, 205.61 KB).

Major work is now complete on the M1 Upgrades at Kariong and Somersby interchanges, Tuggerah and Doyalson interchanges and the Weakleys Drive & John Renshaw Drive intersection.

The three major upgrades will create improved traffic flow and safer, smoother trips for more than 70,000 motorists on the M1.

To find out more about the completed projects, view the June 2020 Project Update (PDF, 2.79Mb).

We thank you for your patience and support during the work to upgrade the M1 Pacific Motorway.

The M1 Pacific Motorway is an important link between Sydney and Brisbane. More than 70,000 light and heavy vehicles travel between the Hunter, Central Coast and Sydney each day. These numbers are expected to increase in the future.

The M1 Upgrades will benefit commuters, holiday traffic and heavy vehicles by:

• improving traffic flow for better travel times and more reliable trips
• allowing for predicted increases in traffic
• providing safer access to and from the motorway
• making it easier for freight to travel between Sydney and the North Coast.

Key features included:

• widening the motorway to three lanes between Kariong and Somersby interchanges and between Tuggerah and Doyalson interchanges
• upgrading the exit and entry ramps at the Kariong, Warnervale and Doyalson interchanges
• replacing the existing roundabout at the Weakleys Drive and John Renshaw Drive intersection with traffic lights
• replacing old and cracked road surfaces with new pavement.

• June 2020 project update
  M1 Pacific Motorway Upgrades – Projects completed.
• August 2018 project update
  Building a better M1 Pacific Motorway.

• June 2020 project postcard
  M1 Pacific Motorway Upgrades – Projects completed.
• August 2018 project postcard
  M1 Pacific Motorway Upgrades.

• 19 May 2021
  Pacific Motorway work to improve safety and support jobs.
• 30 April 2021
  Safety improvement work starts on the M1 Pacific Motorway at Black Hill.
• 20 July 2020
  M1 rubble reused to save homes from bushfires.
• 13 June 2020
  M1 Pacific Motorway upgrade now complete.
• 29 May 2020
  Final upgrade on the M1 nears completion.
• 12 December 2019
  Milestone reached on M1 Upgrade at Kariong.