Drivers in the hot seat as bypass backlogs create the coastal creep - Sydney Morning Herald

''Patience is a virtue'' … traffic builds up on the Pacific Highway at Port Macquarie. Photo: Nigel McNeil

THE yearly holiday exodus from Sydney is leading to massive delays on the state's road network, including at numerous bottlenecks that have been waiting years for upgrades and bypasses.

Queues heading north on the Pacific Highway at Kempsey on the north coast hit 23 kilometres on Thursday, according to Roads and Maritime Services, and 16 kilometres at Bulahdelah, between Newcastle and Port Macquarie. They could be similarly long on Friday.

The cause of the backlogs, which have triggered widespread angst among road users, are holiday crowds combined with long-standing delays to upgrades of some of the state's major routes.

Around Kempsey, a bypass under construction will eventually resolve a lot of the congestion and allow motorists to avoid driving through the town on a road that narrows from two lanes in one direction to one.

That bypass should be finished in months, meaning this is potentially the last Christmas period in which traffic is concentrated in the area. The bypass was first proposed in 2001.

Planning started on the Bulahdelah Bypass in 2000. That road, which should also alleviate the bottleneck in the area, is due to open in March.

There had been hopes it would be open for Christmas but rain delayed construction.

A spokesman for Roads and Maritime Services' Transport Management Centre, Brett Moore, said the queues were a yearly occurrence.

''This is when you seem to see more of the Sydney people who hang around Sydney for Christmas and then drive north after that,'' Mr Moore said.

''The queue lengths on the north coast at places such as Kempsey and Bulahdelah are certainly similar to those on the corresponding day last year.''

There have also been major delays on the Princes Highway at the south coast, with queues kilometres long at Kiama, Berry and Milton.

Mr Moore said he expected heavy traffic to remain over the next couple of days.

A spokesman for the NRMA, Peter Khoury, said traffic might be worse this year because of road construction.

''We knew it was going to be worse than usual but, at the same time, we need the road upgraded,'' Mr Khoury said.

''It's frustrating but patience is a virtue.''

Drivers reported numerous cars broken down on the side of the road and long waits.

''I'm hating the Pacific Highway right now. In the last 90 minutes, we've only moved 15 kilometres. At this rate, I'll be home next year,'' said one driver, Steph Richards.

Another, Catherine Brown, said: ''Bumper to bumper nightmare, two young racehorses on board … fun, fun.''

The mayor of Kempsey, Liz Campbell, said she could see traffic banked up on the entrance to the town but it appeared to be moving steadily, if slowly.

Inspector Phil Brooks, of the Traffic and Highway Patrol Command, said extra police deployed in Christmas holiday operations would remain in these areas in addition to local police.

He urged motorists to consider pulling over for a break when traffic is heavy.

The NRMA experiences a spike in call-outs at this time of year but long traffic snarls on the highway were not the most time-consuming.

''For us, the trouble spots are around the beaches,'' Mr Khoury said. ''People often lock their keys in the car, the cars get overheated, so we get a lot of call-outs like that at this time of year.''

The NRMA has had a 10 per cent increase in call-outs compared with Christmas last year.