{"id":112176,"date":"2025-12-21T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/?p=112176"},"modified":"2025-12-17T17:50:26","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T06:50:26","slug":"motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\/","title":{"rendered":"Motorists warned of Pacific Motorway delays in both directions during holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"

TRANSPORT for NSW is urging motorists to plan ahead, with heavy traffic and delays expected along the Pacific Motorway during the busy Christmas and New Year holiday period.<\/p>\n

Drivers travelling in both directions are advised to be prepared for significant congestion, particularly on Monday and Tuesday (December 22\u201323), which are forecast to be among the busiest travel days.<\/p>\n

Delays are expected just over the Queensland border at Tugun for northbound traffic and around<\/p>\n

Coffs Harbour for southbound travellers.<\/p>\n

“Coffs Harbour and Tugun are known pinch points for people travelling northbound to Queensland on the Pacific Motorway,” Transport for NSW spokesperson Kimberley Ryan said.<\/p>\n

“Heavy congestion is expected at most times, and motorists should expect delays of up to 20 minutes at both locations.<\/p>\n

“There could be delays of up to 30 minutes or more at Coffs Harbour on Saturday, December 27.”<\/p>\n

Boxing Day is expected to be the busiest day for people travelling from Sydney to the North Coast, with delays of up to 45 minutes.<\/p>\n

NSW Police will enforce double demerit points for speeding, motorcycle helmet, seatbelt and mobile phone offences from Christmas Eve until Sunday, January 4.<\/p>\n

For more details about predicted delays at known holiday traffic pinch points, see the NSW Holiday and Journey Planning website.<\/p>\n

For the most up-to-date changes on the roads, visit livetraffic.com.au<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TRANSPORT for NSW is urging motorists to plan ahead, with heavy traffic and delays expected along the Pacific Motorway during the busy Christmas and New Year holiday period. Drivers travelling in both directions are advised to be prepared for significant congestion, particularly on Monday and Tuesday (December 22\u201323), which are forecast to be among the […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":234,"featured_media":112177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-112176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMotorists warned of Pacific Motorway delays in both directions during holidays - Ballina Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Expect Pacific Motorway holiday delays this Christmas. Plan ahead for heavy traffic at Coffs Harbour and Tugun. Check live updates now.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Motorists warned of Pacific Motorway delays in both directions during holidays - Ballina Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Expect Pacific Motorway holiday delays this Christmas. Plan ahead for heavy traffic at Coffs Harbour and Tugun. Check live updates now.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ballina Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-20T17:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2025\/12\/16-dec-tng-36.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mitchell Craig\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mitchell Craig\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/news\\\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/news\\\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mitchell Craig\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9846d5675d51069bb38b76da2cd6a7dc\"},\"headline\":\"Motorists warned of Pacific Motorway delays in both directions during holidays\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-20T17:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/news\\\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":226,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/news\\\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/31\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/16-dec-tng-36.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/news\\\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/news\\\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/news\\\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\\\/\",\"name\":\"Motorists warned of Pacific Motorway delays in both directions during holidays - Ballina Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/news\\\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/news\\\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/31\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/16-dec-tng-36.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-20T17:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Expect Pacific Motorway holiday delays this Christmas. Plan ahead for heavy traffic at Coffs Harbour and Tugun. Check live updates now.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/news\\\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/news\\\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/31\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/16-dec-tng-36.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/31\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/16-dec-tng-36.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Motorists are warned to expect delays on the Pacific Motorway during the holidays. Photo: AAP\\\/JASON O'BRIEN\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ballina Times\",\"description\":\"Free local news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Ballina Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/31\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/BallinaTimes.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/31\\\/2024\\\/07\\\/BallinaTimes.png\",\"width\":697,\"height\":98,\"caption\":\"Ballina Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9846d5675d51069bb38b76da2cd6a7dc\",\"name\":\"Mitchell Craig\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/aeba839aff7142104a01c06e7a41f739bbe676da41a80aa4b2ad5f466caab0db?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/aeba839aff7142104a01c06e7a41f739bbe676da41a80aa4b2ad5f466caab0db?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/aeba839aff7142104a01c06e7a41f739bbe676da41a80aa4b2ad5f466caab0db?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mitchell Craig\"},\"description\":\"Times News Group journalist who covers a range of news and sport. For story ideas and news tips contact me on mitchell.craig@timesnewsgroup.com.au\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballinatimes\\\/author\\\/mitchell\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Motorists warned of Pacific Motorway delays in both directions during holidays - Ballina Times","description":"Expect Pacific Motorway holiday delays this Christmas. Plan ahead for heavy traffic at Coffs Harbour and Tugun. Check live updates now.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Motorists warned of Pacific Motorway delays in both directions during holidays - Ballina Times","og_description":"Expect Pacific Motorway holiday delays this Christmas. Plan ahead for heavy traffic at Coffs Harbour and Tugun. Check live updates now.","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\/","og_site_name":"Ballina Times","article_published_time":"2025-12-20T17:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2025\/12\/16-dec-tng-36.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mitchell Craig","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mitchell Craig","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\/"},"author":{"name":"Mitchell Craig","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/#\/schema\/person\/9846d5675d51069bb38b76da2cd6a7dc"},"headline":"Motorists warned of Pacific Motorway delays in both directions during holidays","datePublished":"2025-12-20T17:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\/"},"wordCount":226,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2025\/12\/16-dec-tng-36.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\/","name":"Motorists warned of Pacific Motorway delays in both directions during holidays - Ballina Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2025\/12\/16-dec-tng-36.jpg","datePublished":"2025-12-20T17:00:00+00:00","description":"Expect Pacific Motorway holiday delays this Christmas. Plan ahead for heavy traffic at Coffs Harbour and Tugun. Check live updates now.","inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/motorists-warned-of-pacific-motorway-delays-in-both-directions-during-holidays\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2025\/12\/16-dec-tng-36.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2025\/12\/16-dec-tng-36.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Motorists are warned to expect delays on the Pacific Motorway during the holidays. Photo: AAP\/JASON O'BRIEN"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/","name":"Ballina Times","description":"Free local news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/#organization","name":"Ballina Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2024\/07\/BallinaTimes.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2024\/07\/BallinaTimes.png","width":697,"height":98,"caption":"Ballina Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/#\/schema\/person\/9846d5675d51069bb38b76da2cd6a7dc","name":"Mitchell Craig","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aeba839aff7142104a01c06e7a41f739bbe676da41a80aa4b2ad5f466caab0db?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aeba839aff7142104a01c06e7a41f739bbe676da41a80aa4b2ad5f466caab0db?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aeba839aff7142104a01c06e7a41f739bbe676da41a80aa4b2ad5f466caab0db?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mitchell Craig"},"description":"Times News Group journalist who covers a range of news and sport. For story ideas and news tips contact me on mitchell.craig@timesnewsgroup.com.au","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/author\/mitchell\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/234"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112176\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112176"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=112176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}