When travelling north from Brisbane by road, plan your road trip ahead to avoid the Sunshine Coast gridlock.
The Sunshine Coast is a beautiful idyllic part of south-east Queensland. It is rich in indigenous culture and traditionally owned by the Gubbi Gubbi (also spelled Kabi Kabi) and Jinibara First Nations peoples. It covers a wide area with many spiritual, historical and scenic landscapes, as well as tourism getaways.
Road journeys can be immensely enjoyable. Australia has many wide open spaces, and historic and nature-saturated vistas to enjoy. Explorers, who desire escape from the beaten path can discover hidden delights as they traverse Australia’s highways and outback roads.
While an experienced traveller may not consider the one hundred and forty-one kilometres from Brisbane to Flaxton in the Sunshine Coast hinterland an immersive road trip, taking five and half hours to drive from A to B will challenge your perception.
Motorists have a few options when driving north from Brisbane. The most familiar path to take is the Bruce Highway (M1, A1). Work on the Bruce started in 1929. The motorway departs Brisbane and leads through coastal cities all the way to Cairns in North Queensland.
The scenic alternative to the M1
Smart adventurers who want to avoid the M1 and its notorious roadblocks can make use of less used scenic routes.
You might head up to the Sunshine Coast instead on state route 22 just after Alderley, or as it rolls through Ferny Grove in Brisbane. State route 22 meanders through places like Samford Village, Mount Samson and Dayboro.
Just after Dayboro take route 58 to D’Aguilar, 85 through Woodford, and 6 to Beerwah and Landsborough. Then depending on your end goal, you can continue on route 6 heading east to Caloundra, or head west (north west) on route 23 through North Maleny, Montville and Mapleton Falls.
Route 23 also known as Tourist Drive 23 or the Blackall Range Tourist Drive terminates in Nambour. This country Queensland Town is well known for its Big Pineapple.
Common mishaps on the Bruce Highway
Before embarking on your journey, no matter how short or long, you should always seek out any impediments in your way. Whether that’s listening to traffic alerts on the radio or jumping on the QLD Traffic website for their latest updates.
If you choose to drive up the Queensland coast via the Bruce Highway there’s bound to be maintenance somewhere along its 1,673 kilometres. It is a long road, and it services over 170,000 cars every day. Traffic is heavier between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.
Then, there are much needed upgrades which could add extra time or detours to your travel plans.
However, unplanned spontaneous events like broken down trucks and cars, oversized vehicles preceded by a police escort (requiring you to pull over to the left kerb side of the road), and vehicle accidents often bring traffic to a complete stop.
It’s no surprise, that in 2023 the Queensland Government recorded over 200 road accidents in the section of the Bruce Highway just between between Brisbane and Gympie.
Experiencing the A1 Sunshine Coast gridlock
Time slows down when you’re stuck in traffic. And when there’s a three year old travelling with you, time stops and starts up all over the place. Luckily for us, the sound and motion of our car lulled our son to sleep. His reaction to the car’s movement was a lifesaver when he was teething.
Unlike previous trips to visit my parents, we were on the road a few hours earlier thanks to my diligent planning and management of the family’s morning activities. It was the middle of the summer holidays. I was determined to beat the traffic and be on the road early.
Yes, it was Christmas in Australia, and every other silly driver had the same foresight.
Our first stop was to purchase flat-whites at our local McDonald’s restaurant. From there, I planned to take the M2 toll road around Brisbane’s southern suburbs and through Logan, where it merged with the M1 at Rochedale.
This was our typical route when driving up to see the retirees. Finally, we were on our way for a three-day break and it was only 9:20am. We would be at my parents’ in no time.
Then, it rained. This wasn’t any passing shower but a grey sky that settled in over our car. It made the slick oiled roads and traffic more chaotic.
Rain was a familiar experience at my parents’ place. They lived in a semi-rainforest area in a tourist corridor on the Sunshine Coast hinterland. Their home was not that far from several choice summer beaches, gorgeous rainforest walks with waterfalls, and Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo.
Long weekends are more chaotic on the Bruce
Have I mentioned it was the start to a long weekend? Everyone wants to get out of town when there’s an extra day off. Both the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast are popular destinations.
Thirty minutes into the trip my handling of our car was outsmarting the most experienced Formulae One driver. I looked over to see my husband fast asleep. His eyes had shut about the same time as our son’s.
I was cautious of my lead foot because the road was extremely wet with puddles pooling in the potholes. The thought of getting a speeding ticket on my almost flawless record was abhorrent. Besides, everyone in Australia drives about half the speed limit when there’s a baby on board.
Despite there being more vehicles on the road than anticipated, we were making reasonable time when we merged with the M3 traffic heading north out of Brisbane.
About half-way to my parents’ house is a roadhouse where we usually stop for fresh coffees, visit amenities, stretch the legs and get our last fulfilling meal until the journey home. It wasn’t long before the exit signs appeared but after a brief conversation with my husband whose eyes had reopened, we decided to soldier on.
I finished my cold coffee, put the car into cruise and tuned the radio in for the ten-thirty news.
“Did you hear? There’s an accident ahead,” I said to my husband.
As if on cue, the traffic slowed. Within minutes, we came to a complete standstill on the Bruce Highway. Our car was wedged in the outside lane behind a wide caravan towed by an SUV, and in front of an old white bus.
No more maps in our Brisbane refidex
I turned the engine off. The silence was blissful. Thick droplets of rain fell on the windscreen. I kept my eyes peeled on the traffic caught up in the Sunshine Coast gridlock, hoping for the slightest sign of movement. When none were forthcoming, I chatted to my husband.
We suspected we were close to an exit leading to a less travelled path to my parents’ home. We had mixed feelings about taking the detour without a map to guide us. My husband dove into our glove box for our street refidex.
The road signs confirmed we were gridlocked before the exit to Wildhorse Mountain and another roadhouse. He flicked through the urban maps searching for our location. The street refidex took us to an area defined as “No More Maps”.
Our car inched forward about five car lengths over the next half-hour.
Without any modern technology to access an electronic map, taking the next exit was too risky. My internal compass was good, but I didn’t trust it enough. As the car crawled closer to the next exit we remained on the Bruce Highway.
Just after 11am, I decided to call my parents to let them know about the delay. We were meant to be there for lunch.
My father was surprised to learn we were on the road. He suggested a couple of detours away from the Sunshine Coast gridlock area that would lead us to Steve Irwin Way. The turn-offs were a short distance after the Wild Horse Mountain lookout. They also may also have local flooding and further congestion.
A stampede of people
We had been stuck in the exact same spot on the highway for a good part of an hour.
The rain eased enough for drivers to emerge from their cars. Some people stood on the road puffing away on cigarettes. Others looked at the vast gridlock disappearing in both directions. Days later, I read in the news the traffic was backed up for 60 kilometres, or about 37.5 miles.
A man jogged past our car determined to take the nearby exit to the roadhouse. People followed, spilling out of their cars and onto the highway in favour of obtaining a snack.
Just as this phenomenon for abandoning vehicles exploded, the lights and engines of vehicles several car lengths ahead switched on. Several people bolted back to their horseless carriages as heavier rain ensued. This time, we moved forward about ten car lengths before switching the engine off again.
The trotting to and fro of people from their cars resumed. Some travellers made new friendships with the occupants of other vehicles, while others took their dogs for a walk in the rain. One man dived out of his car and knocked on the door of the caravan in front of us, possibly to inspect the plumbing.
Our Sunshine Coast gridlock moves forward
The exit to the roadhouse south of Wild Horse Mountain was now firmly behind us. I was having second thoughts about joining the maddening throng at the roadhouse. A fresh cup of coffee would do nicely. The persistent rain and desire to start our engines to get ready, set, go, kept my bum firmly in my seat.
Minutes later, I joined the rest of the rat race in the rain. My delighted three-year-old son wanted his nappy changed. The back seat of the car became a makeshift change table. Afterwards, I gathered some toys from the boot to keep him entertained.
Dripping wet, I slid back into the driver’s seat. We rolled forward a whole two car lengths. This familiar pattern repeated a few more times over the course of an hour until we were on the opposite side of the off ramp to Johnston Road.
The on ramp leading from the Wild Horse Mountain roadhouse to the highway was now adjacent to us. Several vehicles were attempting to reverse up the on ramp dodging vehicles heading in the opposite direction and joining the dirge of traffic. Those coffees must be out of this Universe.
Traffic congested in both directions of the Bruce Highway
An ambulance screamed southbound towards Brisbane from the other side of the highway. The traffic heading towards the city was congested but moving.
I called my father again. It was after 12:30pm, and my parents had expected us to arrive for Boxing Day lunch. We would call them again when the traffic cleared.
We sat and watched more raindrops splosh on the car windows.
Even though the petrol tank was full when we started our journey, I kept turning our engine off to conserve fuel. We speculated about the abandoned vehicles on the side of the road. Had they fun out of fuel?
To detour or not detour around the Sunshine Coast gridlock
It was about 1:20pm when we finally moved forward more than a couple of cars. This time it looked promising as the traffic crawled for a few more kilometres. We passed a four wheel drive that had taken an off-road detour and ended up bogged in the mud.
My husband kept an eye out for the detour my father had suggested. Fifty minutes passed and we were still in bumper to bumper traffic when the detour appeared. As we reached it, the traffic cleared. Rather than take our chance with flooded creeks and further delays, we chose to remain on the Bruce Highway.
It was our more familiar route.
Another thirty minutes later and near to five hours after we had left home, we left the A1. We slipped through Nambour and drove up the Blackall Range, Mist and clouds surrounded our final destination in the quiet and beautiful bosom of Flaxton.
All negative feelings about the delay faded. Awaiting us was a late and delicious Boxing Day lunch. We had finally made it through the Sunshine Coast gridlock to destination B.
Editorial note
This article was first published on HubPages.com in 2011. It was removed, updated, edited and published on Jacmus.com in 2025.