I remember as a child in the early 1980s, travelling for hours and hours and hours from our home south of Sydney, to Newcastle along the Pacific Highway. The road was always conjested and it took far too long to travel the relatively short distance.
The Sydney/Newcastle Freeway - National Highway 1 (Freeway Route 3) is 128km in length and the first constructions commenced on 23 April, 1963.
STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
April 1963 – Construction began on the 7 km section from the Hawkesbury River to Mount White. This was opened as a toll road in December 1965.
October 1966 – Opening of the Mount White-Calga section.
December 1968 – Opening of Berowra to Hawkesbury River section as a toll road.
October 1973 – Completion of Hawkesbury River freeway bridge, connecting the Berowra-Hawkesbury River and Hawkesbury River-Calga sections.
December 1983 – Concurrent opening of the Somersby to Ourimbah and Kangy Angy to Wallarah Creek sections, including the single carriageway motorway link from Wallarah Creek to the Pacific Hwy at Doyalson.
December 1986 – Opening of the 15 km section between Calga and Somersby, including the Mooney Mooney Creek bridge.
September 1987 – Freeway completed from Wallarah Creek interchange to Mandalong Road interchange.
March 1988 – Freeway completed from Mandalong Road interchange to Freemans Waterhole interchange.
March 1989 – Wahroonga to Berowra section opened
December 1990 – Section from Freemans Waterhole interchange to Palmer’s Road completed.
December 1993 – Palmer’s Road to Minmi section opened.
December 1997 – “Missing link” between Ourimbah and Kangy Angy opened.
November 1998 – Final stage of freeway opened between Minmi and John Renshaw Drive, Beresfield.
December 2004 – Completion of widening to six lanes of the four-lane sections between the Hawkesbury River and Calga.