Road Photos & Information: New South Wales
Pacific Motorway, Pacific Highway, New England Highway, John Renshaw Drive, Gore Hill Freeway, Warringah Freeway, Sydney Harbour Tunnel, Eastern Distributor, Southern Cross Drive, General Holmes Drive, The Grand Parade, President Avenue, Princes Highway and Princes Motorway (M1 / A1)
Waterfall to Gwynneville
Statistics:
- Length:
- 1333 km (Waterfall to Gwynneville: 36 km)
- Termini:
- Northern: Northern: Pacific Mwy (M1), Tweed Heads, at the NSW / QLD Border
- Southern: Southern: Princes Hwy (A1), Timbillica, at the NSW / VIC Border
- Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along Route:
- Waterfall, Helensburgh, Woronora Dam, Darkes Forest, Stanwell Tops, Maddens Plains, Bulli Tops, Cataract, Mt Pleasant and Mt Ousley
Route Numbering:
- Current: M1
- Former: 1 F6
- Road Authority Internal Classification: 1
- 6006 (Yallah to Gwynneville and Bulli Tops to Waterfall)
- MR95 (Mt Ousley to Cataract)
General Information:
M1 / A1 is the principal coastal route through New South Wales, and forms part of the circumferential route around Australia.
The route varies greatly along its length and includes sections of rural highway, urban arterial road, divided rural highway and also motorway. The route also features several tunnels, located in the inner east, inner south and lower northern suburbs of Sydney and at Yelgun and Tweed Heads, at the northern end of the route in NSW. The route passes through forest, rural, residential, commercial and industrial areas.
The Princes Motorway started life as the Southern Expressway (later Freeway) and also Mount Ousley Road, and runs between Waterfall, bypassing Wollongong and ending at Kiama, in the Illawarra's southern suburbs. It is the main route between Sydney and Wollongong, and crosses the Illawarra Escarpment to the narrow coastal strip on which most of the Illawarra suburbs are built.
History:
- Princes Motorway:
- March 1964: Mount Ousley Road was connected to the now former F6 Freeway at Gwynneville.
- 1972: Completion of the then Southern Expressway between Waterfall and Bulli Tops.
- 1975: Introduction of a driver aid system on the then Southern Freeway between Waterfall and Bulli Tops. It was operated from the offices adjacent to the toll booths at Waterfall. Click or tap here for the brochure explaining how to use the system.
Gwynneville to Waterfall
New Mount Pleasant Road:
Princes Mwy (M1) as it passes under New Mount Pleasant Rd at Mt Pleasant, November 2013.
Image © Paul Rands
Trucks & Buses Must Use Left 2 Lanes:
Heavy vehicle restrictions on Princes Mwy (M1) at Mt Pleasant, November 2013.
Image © Paul Rands
Advance Directional Sign:
AD sign at Brokers Nose approaching Clive Bissell Drive, November 2013.
Image © Paul Rands
Advance Directional Sign:
AD sign approaching Picton Rd (B88) interchange at Brokers Nose, November 2013.
Image © Paul Rands
Picton Road Interchange:
Princes Mwy (M1) at the Picton Rd (B88) interchange at Brokers Nose, November 2013.
Image © Paul Rands
Picton Road Interchange:
Princes Mwy (M1) at the Picton Rd (B88) interchange at Brokers Nose, November 2013.
Image © Paul Rands
Waterfall to Gwynneville
NEW Start Motorway:
Sign indicating start of motorway conditions at Waterfall, January 2018.
Image © Paul Rands
Reassurance Directional Sign:
Distance sign on Princes Mwy (M1) at Waterfall, just after the Old Princes Hwy interchange, November 2013.
Image © Michael Greenslade
NEW Advance Directional Sign:
AD sign at Helensburgh, approaching Lawrence Hargrave Dr interchange, January 2018.
Image © Paul Rands
NEW Supplemental Advance Directional Sign:
Supplemental AD sign at Helensburgh, approaching Lawrence Hargrave Dr interchange, January 2018.
Image © Paul Rands
NEW Advance Directional Sign:
AD sign at Helensburgh, approaching Lawrence Hargrave Dr interchange, January 2018.
Image © Paul Rands
NEW Supplemental Advance Directional Sign:
Supplemental AD sign at Helensburgh, approaching Lawrence Hargrave Dr interchange, January 2018.
Image © Paul Rands
NEW Lawrence Hargrave Drive Interchange:
Princes Mwy (M1) at the Lawrence Hargrave Dr interchange in Helensburgh, January 2018.
Image © Paul Rands
Advance Directional Sign:
AD sign at Bulli Tops approaching Appin Rd (B69), November 2013.
Image © Michael Greenslade
Advance Directional Sign:
AD sign at Bulli Tops approaching Bulli Pass, November 2013. M1 becomes dual named at this point, Princes Mwy / Mt Ousley Rd
Image © Michael Greenslade
Cataract Creek:
Princes Mwy / Mt Ousley Rd (M1) at Cataract as it crosses Cataract Creek, November 2013. This crossing was built in the late 1970s.
Image © Michael Greenslade
Advance Directional Sign:
AD sign at Mt Ousley approaching the unnumbered segment of Mt Ousley Rd, November 2013.
Image © Michael Greenslade
Advance Directional Sign:
AD sign on Mt Ousley Rd (unnumbered) at Mt Ousley approaching Princes Mwy (M1), November 2013.
Image © Paul Rands
Intersection Directional Sign:
ID sign facing Mt Ousley Rd at Mt Ousley, November 2013.
Image © Paul Rands
Intersection Directional Sign:
ID sign facing Mt Ousley Rd at Mt Ousley, November 2013.
Image © Paul Rands
2 Sydney Morning Herald, 20 May 1972.