Community & Business
21 December, 2025
Plan your summer journey and allow extra time on the Great Western Highway
For travel connecting the Greater Sydney area with the Central West, the Great Western Highway has several known pinch points.
Motorists planning to travel on the Great Western Highway during the Christmas-New Year period are advised to plan their trip and allow extra travel time, with high traffic volumes and delays expected.
Historical traffic data shows the busiest days for westbound traffic to Lithgow is predicted to be from Saturday, December 27 to Tuesday, December 30 and on Friday, January 2, with expected delays of up to 20 minutes.
The Govetts Leap Road intersection at Blackheath can be a pinch point where there are often queues for eastbound motorists. Traffic queueing also often extends west from Blackheath to Hartley and beyond.
When queueing begins eastbound at Mount Victoria, a traffic management plan is put in place with motorists held at Hartley to prevent further congestion and start/stop movements up Victoria Pass.
Vehicles are then released in small groups, allowing them to travel smoothly up Victoria Pass to prevent further delays due to breakdowns and to avoid nose-to-tail crashes.
NSW Police will enforce double demerit points for speeding, motorcycle helmet, seatbelt and mobile phone offences from Wednesday, December 24, 2025 to Sunday, January 4, 2026.
Transport for NSW thanks motorists for their patience during this time.
For more details about predicted delays and holiday traffic pinch points, see the NSW Holiday and Journey planning website.
For more information about the Great Western Highway, visit the website or livetraffic.com/incident-details/258561, download the Live Traffic NSW app or call 132 701.
To receive updates on your phone, search in the Live Traffic app for ‘Blackheath’, select the entry and click ‘Follow’.
