People living in Greater Sydney and other parts of NSW have been living under stay-at-home orders since the end of June 2021 and are expected to hit the road in droves from tomorrow, Monday 1 November, with the further easing of COVID restrictions.  

“The people of NSW have done so well to get fully vaccinated and we know many people are eager to get out and about,” said Pete Allaway, Transport for NSW Acting Deputy Secretary, Regional and Outer Metropolitan.  

“We anticipate large traffic volumes and delays entering and leaving Sydney and on key routes on the Hume Highway and Princes Highway to the south, Great Western Highway and Bells Line of Road to the west and Pacific Highway, M1 Pacific Motorway and Northconnex to the north. 

“Transport for NSW will have traffic management in place at the major known pinch points, but motorists can still expect delays.” 

Mr Allaway said Transport for NSW has been planning for the reopening of regional areas for months now, and this unique situation could potentially see traffic volumes reach those traditionally seen during Easter and Christmas holidays. 

They are also reminding motorists that they need to be “truck aware” when driving on regional roads, a timely message as the annual grain harvest begins to heat up in central and northern regions. 

“Driving around heavy vehicles on regional roads can be challenging, especially if it is not something that you are used to. It’s important to remember trucks can’t stop as quickly as some other vehicles on our roads so you need to be extra vigilant," Mr Allaway said. 

 With the Western NSW Local Health District recording just seven new cases this weekend (all in Bathurst and Cowra), there is some trepidation in local communities about opening up the region to Sydneysiders. 

NSW MLC Sam Farraway says it is all part of learning to live in a COVID world and the high  high vaccination rates achieved in many communities should provide some peace of mind. 

"We will continue to get covid but we need to learn and live with it, and vaccination is the maximum protection," Mr Farraway said. 

A new tool is now available for those wanting to keep an eye on whether they've been in a venue of concern.

As of Friday 29 October, NSW residents can now receive push notifications on COVID-19 case locations on the Service NSW app so they are alerted to potential exposure risks as soon as possible.  

The new function is in addition to the red icon that appears in the check-in history of a person who has been to a venue on the same day as a confirmed COVID-19 case. 

The case alerts in the Service NSW app makes it easy to see if you may have been in contact with or visited a venue of a positive case and provides a link to relevant health advice. 

People who receive a push notification or see a COVID-19 case alert in their check-in history should monitor for symptoms and get tested immediately if they feel unwell. They do not need to self-isolate, unless contacted by NSW Health. 

Contact tracers will still contact positive cases and close contacts to provide them with testing and isolation advice.