School holiday rush clogs Pacific Motorway with 30-kilometre delays

The school holidays are well and truly upon us, with Pacific Motorway and Bruce Highway clogged by families hoping to escape to the sun and sand on the Gold and Sunshine Coast.

Australian Traffic Network reporter Benjamin Mihan said the run down to the Gold Coast was the worst, with more than 30 kilometres of delays greeting beachgoers by 12.30pm on Saturday.

Mr Mihan said the Pacific Motorway was congested between Ormeau and Gaven, before a 15-kilometre reprieve, followed by further delays between Robina and Palm Beach.

The run up to the Sunshine Coast was not as bad, with just under 10 kilometres of traffic between Beerwah and Landsborough on northbound lanes of the Bruce Highway.

Meanwhile, a multi-vehicle crash on the Gateway Motorway through Rochedale caused further traffic headaches, with three southbound lanes closed during Saturday morning.

The incident cleared just after midday, but residual delays stretched back about seven kilometres to Airport Drive.

In addition, a pedestrian was rushed to Princess Alexandra Hospital with serious, life-threatening head injuries, after being hit by a vehicle on Mount Gravatt Capalaba Road in Wishart.

Emergency services responded about 11.15am and closed inbound lanes between Boyander and Greenwood Street, with several kilometres of congestion through Eight Mile Plains and the Gateway merge heavy as a result.

Police had asked drivers to avoid the area as the Forensic Crash Unit investigated, but the scene was cleared and the road reopened just before 1.30pm.