Heavy traffic and car accidents caused queues of more than 10 kilometres along parts of the NSW coast, adding an hour to road trips north and south, as people travelled from Sydney to popular holiday destinations.
Heading north from Sydney, heavy traffic from Mardi to Warnervale has returned to normal, along with traffic on the M1 Pacific Motorway from Kariong to Somersby.
![Holidaymakers were told to expect lengthy delays.](/web/20161228014556im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/h/y/2/l/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gti8i9.png/1482825658521.jpg)
Traffic has eased in Ryde, where all northbound lanes have opened again after a truck breakdown earlier in the afternoon.
On the north coast, a regular pinch point on the Pacific Highway at Macksville had a queue of 7 kilometres, adding 20 minutes of travel time, while further north at Woodburn, heavy traffic added 40 minutes of travel time heading north, with a 12-kilometre backlog.
On the south coast at Batemans Bay, eastbound traffic on the Kings Highway is queued around 2 kilometres, adding 10 minutes of travel time.
The Princes Highway had some of the heaviest traffic in the state, with congestion for cars heading south at Albion Park, Berry, Nowra and Milton.
Motorists were already extensively delayed heading south on the highway on Tuesday afternoon, before it was closed for an hour near Nowra after a crash involving five cars.
Emergency services were called to the Princes Highway at Tomerong just before 1.30pm, where they found a man and a woman still trapped in the cars.
The man, estimated to be in his early 20s, was thought to have a concussion, a NSW Ambulance spokesman said. The woman, also in her 20s, complained of chest and back pain.
Both were taken by ambulance to Shoalhaven Hospital in a stable condition.
As the pair were cut free on Tuesday afternoon, traffic was diverted around the crash site. A queue of 3 kilometres developed, expected to cause further delays.
Southbound traffic on the Princes Highway at Tomerong has returned to normal, also easing at Berry after having stretched for 11 kilometres. Traffic from Kanhooka to Albion Park had queued for 6 kilometres, and at Ulladulla, cars queued for 3 kilometres.
Traffic was also snagged northbound at Ulladulla, with a 2-kilometre queue adding 10 minutes to journeys. Earlier traffic on the Hume Highway from a grass fire at Douglas Park had cleared by the afternoon.
At Pembrooke, a crash involving several cars added 45 minutes to trips heading north, with a 9-kilometre queue.
The New England Highway at Tarro was another hotspot, with cars told to expect an extra 15 minutes for their journey.
A spokesman for the Transport Management Centre said motorists should expect "lengthy" delays.
"Motorists are being urged to factor in plenty of additional travel time when travelling on the state's road network," the spokesman said.
"Heavy traffic is highly likely due to traditionally heavy holiday traffic."
The large numbers of people driving during the holiday season has translated to police writing tens of thousands of tickets for speeding.
NSW Police said in the past 10 days, 11,000 speeding infringement notices were issued - almost 2000 more than this time last year.
Six people have died on NSW roads since mid-December, which is five fewer than this time last year.