
Warringah Freeway is a
divided
freeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...
in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
,
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, Australia that is part of the
Sydney Orbital Network
The Sydney Orbital Network is a 110 kilometre motorway standard ring road around and through Sydney, the capital of New South Wales in Australia. It runs north from Sydney Airport, underneath the CBD to the North Shore, west to the Hills Dist ...
. The primary function of the freeway is to provide an alternative high-grade route from the
Sydney Harbour Tunnel and
Bradfield Highway at
Milsons Point
Milsons Point is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located three kilometres north of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of North Sydney.
Milsons Point is also the geo ...
to the
A8 and
Gore Hill Freeway. The freeway reduces traffic demands on
Pacific Highway throughout Sydney's
Lower North Shore, bypassing and ,
and provides a vital link to access most of the suburbs in Sydney and is also a major route to the north, south, east and west of the
central business district
A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...
.
Route
Warringah Freeway commences at the interchange with Gore Hill Freeway and Willoughby Road in
Naremburn and heads in a southeasterly direction as a six-lane, dual-carriageway road, curving to a southward direction through
Cammeray
Cammeray is a residential suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Northern Sydney and is part of the North Sydney Council local government area.
History Aboriginal culture
Cammeray takes its name from the Cammeraygal people, an Aboriginal ...
, slowly expanding to 10 lanes across multiple carriageways after the Brook Street exit, and to 16 lanes across the whole corridor for a short distance before the North Sydney northbound onramp. While a number of its inner carriageways were built to allow reversible traffic flows, today only the inner west carriageway is reversible, with the inner east carriageway feeding the
Sydney Harbour Tunnel southbound. All carriageways were previously widened by utilising space from the former breakdown lane, and repositioning the existing lanes.
The arrangement is now mostly 4x3x3x3 through the section with the switchable carriageway, with variations in the width of the outer carriageways as ramps enter and exit the freeway. In 2007, major changes to the Military Road overpass have occurred with an extra three ramps added, and two extra lanes on the connecting Gore Hill Freeway at the northern end (part of the
Lane Cove Tunnel
The Lane Cove Tunnel is a twin-tunnel tollway in Sydney, Australia that is part of the Sydney Orbital Network. Owned by Transurban, It connects the M2 Motorway at North Ryde with the Gore Hill Freeway at Artarmon and forms part of Sydney's ...
project). The overpass where these five ramps originate has been widened for an attempt to channel all the traffic.
The carriageway change over process was automated around 1990, with moveable barriers and overhead signage directing traffic onto the correct lanes. The changeover occurs when the Harbour Bridge needs either five or six lanes southbound (the default is four each way). There can only ever be a maximum of 5 lanes northbound off the bridge, with the extra lane feeding into a spare lane on the inner west carriageway. Changeover times are around 06:30 and 09:00 Monday to Friday.
Almost all entry and exit ramps on the freeway are controlled by
traffic signals
Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – also known as robots in South Africa, Zambia, and Namibia – are signaling devices positioned at intersection (road), road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order t ...
. Most of the ramps are of sufficient length to avoid any delays to through traffic, with the exception of Military Road. The arrangement for accessing the Harbour bridge (for access to the city and western suburbs) southbound can be confusing for anyone unfamiliar with the road, with a choice of either competing with traffic approaching the Sydney Harbour Tunnel via the two lanes at the inner eastern carriageway or having to cross the Bus Lane; traffic improved when the toll collection points (for southbound traffic) became electronic only.
History
Planning for the construction of the freeway began in 1951. Its first stage, connecting the
Bradfield Highway to
Miller Street, opened on 18 June 1968.
As its name suggests, the road was envisioned as the first stage of a freeway system for Sydney's
Manly/
Warringah Warringah ( ) is a name taken from the local Aboriginal word for Middle Harbour, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It may refer to:
* Division of Warringah, an electoral division of the Australian House of Representatives created in 1922
* E ...
area. An early alignment had the freeway crossing into the Manly Warringah area via
Castlecrag
Castlecrag is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 8 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Willoughby.
Castlecrag is ...
, then later via
Castle Cove. The freeway was never extended in this direction due to opposition by the residents of Castlecrag.
A large amount of residential and commercial property, half a golf course, and a cemetery were resumed by the government to build this freeway.
The freeway originally featured a 3x2x2x3 arrangement with the inner two
carriageway
A carriageway (British English) or roadway (North American English) is a width of road on which a vehicle is not restricted by any physical barriers or separation to move laterally. A carriageway generally consists of a number of traffic lane ...
s both running in the same direction during peak times. The changeover process was slow both on the freeway and the Harbour Bridge, with large numbers of red plastic 'candle sticks' or 'candy bars' being manually moved four times every weekday. The original north termination point of the freeway was Chandos Street, Cammeray; with a small extension being added to Willoughby Road in 1978.
The Chandos Street ramps were moved to Brook Street at this time.
It was not until 1992, when the opening of Gore Hill Freeway connected Warringah Freeway to Pacific Highway, that the road officially became part of Australia's Highway 1. Until then, it had been a short freeway that terminated curiously in the middle of the suburbs, despite being Sydney's most prominent freeway, the "F1", with 16 lanes connecting to Bradfield Highway over the
Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North ...
.
The passing of the ''Main Roads Act of 1924'' through the
Parliament of New South Wales
The Parliament of New South Wales, formally the Legislature of New South Wales, (definition of "The Legislature") is the bicameral legislative body of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). It consists of the Monarch, the New South Wa ...
provided for the declaration of Main Roads, roads partially funded by the State government through the
Main Roads Board
The Main Roads Board was an agency of the Government of New South Wales, responsible for planning, constructing and maintaining road infrastructure in New South Wales, Australia.
History
The Main Roads Board (MRB) was founded on 1 January 1925 ...
(MRB). With the subsequent passing of the ''Main Roads (Amendment) Act of 1929'' to provide for additional declarations of State Highways and Trunk Roads, the
Department of Main Roads (having succeeded the MRB in 1932) declared Main Road 651 along the freeway, from the interchange with Bradfield Highway and Lavender Street in North Sydney to the interchange with Gore Hill Freeway and Willoughby Road in Naremburn (and continuing northwest along the
Gore Hill Freeway to
Lane Cove), on 22 January 1993.
Despite its role as a grade-separated freeway, the road is not officially gazetted as one by
Transport for NSW
Transport for NSW (TfNSW) is a Government of New South Wales, New South Wales Government transport services and roads List of New South Wales government agencies, agency established on 1 November 2011. The agency is a different entity to the NSW ...
classification, and is still considered today to be a main road.
The passing of the ''Roads Act of 1993'' updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, Warringah Freeway retains its declaration as part of Main Road 651.
A 24-hour Bus Lane (buses, taxi cabs and hire cars) was added after the Sydney Harbour Tunnel opened in 1992. It runs southbound on the outer carriageway and across the Harbour Bridge. This has proven to be a major success, carrying more persons in the morning peak hour than all other southbound lanes combined. The first of the new Military Road ramps opened in June 2006. Most northbound traffic now has to exit from the right of the six northbound outer carriageway lanes, instead of the left. The previous exit ramp (for a right turn into Military Road) previously had three general lanes and one bus lane. There are now no general lanes, and two bus lanes. Traffic turning left into Falcon Street still uses the old ramp. The stated reason for this change is to remove all the traffic which enters the freeway at North Sydney, then exits again at Military Road, adding to peak hour delays.
The route was allocated Freeway Route 1 when it was opened in 1968; when the extension to Willoughby Road opened in 1978, it was extended along with it. It was replaced by National Route 1, and State Route 28 was extended from its previous terminus (at Longueville Road and Pacific Highway in Lane Cove) along Gore Hill Freeway and Warringah Freeway to Bradfield Highway, when
Gore Hill Freeway opened in 1992. National Route 1 was diverted from Warringah Freeway along the
Sydney Harbour Tunnel at North Sydney when it was opened later in 1992. National Route 1 was replaced by Metroad 1, and State Route 28 was replaced by Metroad 2, in 1993; Metroad 2 was eventually removed when the
Lane Cove Tunnel
The Lane Cove Tunnel is a twin-tunnel tollway in Sydney, Australia that is part of the Sydney Orbital Network. Owned by Transurban, It connects the M2 Motorway at North Ryde with the Gore Hill Freeway at Artarmon and forms part of Sydney's ...
opened in 2007. With the conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in 2013, Metroad 1 was replaced by route M1.
Original blueprint

Following the opening of the first section of this freeway in 1968, there were plans for six further stages to be constructed to the north.
* Stage 1 – Willoughby Road extension, and a tunnel under the
North Shore Line. Planned completion 1973. Willoughby road extension completed 1978. Tunnel under the railway completed 1992 as part of the
Gore Hill Freeway.
* Stage 2 – Northbridge to Castlecrag, and Wakehurst Parkway link. Planned completion 1974. Never built due to lobbying by the Castlecrag Progress Association.
* Stage 3 – Bridge over
Middle Harbour
Middle Harbour (or ''Warrin ga''), a semi-mature tide dominated drowned valley estuary, is the northern arm of Port Jackson, an inlet of the Tasman Sea located north of Sydney central business district on the coast of New South Wales, Australi ...
between east
Castlecrag
Castlecrag is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 8 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Willoughby.
Castlecrag is ...
and
Seaforth. Planned completion 1974. Never built due to lobbying by the Castlecrag Progress Association.
* Stage 4 –
Seaforth to
Balgowlah spur link. Planned completion 1974. Never built due to lobbying by the Castlecrag Progress Association.
* Stage 5 – Upgrade of Wakehurst Parkway to freeway conditions to Warringah Road. Spur link to Manly Vale. Planned completion 1977. Partially completed (
Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation
Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation is a major arterial road in the Northern Beaches area of Sydney, Australia, and is a constituent part of the A8 route. It takes its name from Burnt Bridge Creek which flows beneath the road, although there is no s ...
) 1985.
* Stage 6 – Willoughby Road to Pacific Highway/Epping road junction. Planned completion 1980. Completed 1992 as the
Gore Hill Freeway.
Various proposals over the years have been made to complete Warringah Freeway to the area of its name, due to the chronic traffic problems afflicting the North Shore from
Mosman
Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governm ...
to
Chatswood. The residents of
Castlecrag
Castlecrag is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 8 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Willoughby.
Castlecrag is ...
, who opposed the construction of this freeway, also suffer from these traffic problems, however, they find this preferable to the environmental and aesthetic amelioration that the area would have suffered, had the construction of Stage 3 gone ahead.
In the early 2000s, one proposal from the
Liberal state opposition was for the construction of a six lane tunnel starting at the
Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation
Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation is a major arterial road in the Northern Beaches area of Sydney, Australia, and is a constituent part of the A8 route. It takes its name from Burnt Bridge Creek which flows beneath the road, although there is no s ...
in Balgowlah, joining with Gore Hill Freeway. The Liberal Party formed state government in 2011, and the proposal became known as the
Beaches Link.
Warringah Freeway Upgrade
The NSW Government proposal to build the
Western Harbour Tunnel and
Beaches Link included plans to upgrade Warringah Freeway to accommodate the tunnel entries and exits. The works were expected to take about seven years and would involve significant impacts to adjacent parks (
St Leonards and
Cammeray Golf Course) during and after construction.
Roads & Maritime Services
A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved.
The wo ...
claimed the upgrade would "streamline Australia's busiest road".
In September 2021, the design and construction contract for the Warringah Freeway upgrade was awarded to
CPB Contractors and
Downer EDI.
In 2023, the
state government
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...
cancelled the
Beaches Link, citing budgetary and other pressures. The local federal member for
Warringah Warringah ( ) is a name taken from the local Aboriginal word for Middle Harbour, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It may refer to:
* Division of Warringah, an electoral division of the Australian House of Representatives created in 1922
* E ...
,
Zali Steggall
Zali Steggall (born 16 April 1974) is an Australian politician, lawyer and former Winter Olympic Games, Winter Olympic athlete. She has been the Independent politician, independent member for Division of Warringah, Warringah since the 2019 Aus ...
, criticised the decision; while the local
Willoughby City Council welcomed the move.
Tolls
Warringah Freeway itself does not have any tolls. However, a toll is charged when entering or exiting Warringah Freeway (north) to and from Military Road (A8) and Falcon Street.
Exits and interchanges
In popular culture
The freeway was briefly seen in the 1974 feature film ''
Stoner''.
See also
*
Freeways in Australia
Australian Capital Territory Canberra region
* Federal Highway - Between State Border with New South Wales, and Antill Street Roundabout. M23 designation diverts at the Majura Parkway interchange, while Federal Highway continues as A23.
* ...
*
Freeways in Sydney
Notes
References
External links
Live Traffic Camera*
{{Road infrastructure in Sydney
Highways in Sydney
Highway 1 (Australia)
Roads with a reversible lane