Newell vs Hume vs New England vs Pacific Highway (BRIS - SYD - MELB)

[glider]

I've had the pleasure of travelling on all 4 of these highways in the last month so I thought I would post up how I found each one to be, taking into account speed limit, town bypasses, road quality, single/dual carrigeway and current roadworks

Newell Highway (Inland Highway, links to Shepparton, Dubbo and Goondiwindi)
Speed Limit: 100KM/HR between towns
Town Bypasses: Travels through most if not every town on route
Road Quality: Is heavily used by B-Doubles and has alot of bumps and smaller potholes.
Single/Dual Carrigeway: Is mostly Single Lane Carrigeway with overtaking lanes
Roadworks: Very Few
Comments: Would avoid this road in a car, by comparison to the coastal road, the quality is very poor for light vehicles

Hume Highway/Freeway (Melbourne - Sydney)
Speed Limit: 110KM/HR
Town Bypasses: Mostly bypasses, several towns still under construction
Road Quality: Very High
Single/Dual Carrigeway: Dual Lane Carriageway for most of it's entirety
Roadworks: Very Few to complete remaining bypasses
Comments: The Best out of the four. Quality stays high all the way between Melbourne and Sydney

New England Highway (Maitland - Warwick via Tamworth)
Speed Limit: 100KM/HR between towns, 50KM/HR in towns
Town Bypasses: Travels through most towns, there are many towns
Road Quality: Alot of bumps, some potholes
Single/Dual Carrigeway: Is mostly Single Lane Carrigeway with overtaking lanes
Roadworks: Very Few
Comments: Is better than Newell but travels through alot of towns. Traffic gets heavy through Maitland. Has far less traffic than both Pacific and Newell. Avoids the crawl through Coffs Harbour and areas around Ballina

Pacific Highway (Coastal Route between Newcastle and Tweed Heads)
Speed Limit: 100KM/HR in the top half, 110KM/HR between Newcastle and Port Macquarie
Town Bypasses: Has many town bypasses still in construction
Road Quality: Is average between Ballina and Coffs Harbour, Coffs to Newcastle is good
Single/Dual Carrigeway: Single Carriageway from Ballina to Coffs, Mostly Dual between Coffs and Newcastle
Roadworks: A few, mosty for remaining town bypasses
Comments: Has a long way to go yet, there are quite a few bypasses to be completed. Will still have to travel through Coffs Harbour and Hexham. Once bypasses are complete this will stand out as the best route between Sydney and Brisbane.

Recommend Routes
Car:
Brisbane <-> Melbourne: Pacific Highway <-> Sydney-Newcastle Fwy <-> M2 <-> M7 <-> Hume Hwy/Fwy (N.B Try to plan trip to avoid Sydney during day/early evening)
Brisbane <-> Sydney: Pacific Highway + Sydney-Newcastle Freeway
Sydney <-> Melbourne: Hume Hwy/Fwy

4x4:
Any route would be fine, but take comments under advisement

Truck:
Newell Highway, road quality is fine for heavy vehicles

Feel Free to add any comments on any of the above views I have posted

[mrbe]

I live and work halfway between Syd and Bris on the Pacific Highway. North of Port Macquarie it is just a joke. It's going to be 10yrs min before it's dual carriageway all the way. By-pass of Kempsey due to open in 2014, but given the rain and the workers haven't been there for the last two weeks, it's already sarting to be delayed. Ballina is a huge by-pass and there are a lot of areas waiting for the foundations to settle. It's due to be finished at the end of 2012. A bypass of Coffs is still on the drawing board. Flying is still the best way to travel ;)

[guy 27]

pacific and hume with out question.
since the lowering of the speed limit on the inland route time wise they work out the same now.