Road closures

Leave the car at home

There are a few things you should know if you plan on driving on New Year’s Eve.

With so many parking restrictions and major roads closed, you can’t drive to  vantage points  or see the fireworks from your car. Leave your car at home and catch public transport instead with thousands of extra services running throughout the night.

Major roads closed

In the Sydney CBD, some roads start closing from as early as 4am with roads in Circular Quay and The Rocks closed by 2pm, followed by major closures in the city centre and Pyrmont by 7pm.

In North Sydney, Milsons Point and Kirribilli roads start closing from 5pm, with some early morning local road closures around vantage points.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge will be completely closed in both directions from 11pm ahead of the midnight fireworks. The Anzac Bridge citybound lanes will close from 8.30pm to 9.30pm and again from 11pm to 1.30am for both firework displays.

Majority of roads in North Sydney and Milsons Point will reopen by 3am, in the Sydney CBD most roads will reopen by 4am.

For real-time updates on traffic conditions and road closures during New Year’s Eve visit  Live Traffic NSW  website or app, or follow @LiveTrafficSyd on X (formerly Twitter) and Live Traffic NSW Facebook.

Road closure listing:

Sydney CBD and Pyrmont

  • 4am – 6am:  Macquarie St north of Bridge St to the Sydney Opera House.

  • 5am – 4am:  roads in the Royal Botanic Garden & Domain including Art Gallery Rd and Mrs Macquaries Rd.

  • 6am - 10am (1 Jan):  Circular Quay West and George St between Lower Fort St and Hickson Rd

  • 6am – 4am (1 Jan):  the Cahill Expressway southbound lanes on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and overpass at Circular Quay. Use the Sydney Harbour Tunnel instead for travel to and from the east.

  • 10am – 4am:  Macquarie St between Bridge St and Shakespeare Place, Bridge St at Macquarie St and Phillip Lane

  • 12pm – 4am:  Hickson Rd between Towns Place, Millers Point and Watermans Quay, Barangaroo, and Barton St.

  • 2pm – 4am:  roads in Circular Quay and The Rocks north of Bridge St/Grosvenor St including George St/Hickson Rd to Pottinger St, Bridge St at Loftus St, Phillip St, Young St, Pitt St, Loftus St, Lower Fort St, Cumberland St, Harrington St, Argyle St, Upper Fort St at Observatory Hill, and other local roads.

  • 5pm – 4am:  Grosvenor St off-ramp from Harbour Bridge and Bridge St between Grosvenor St and Loftus St. At Central, the Railway Colonnade will close.

  • 6pm – 4am: Darling Island Rd at Pyrmont.

  • 7pm – 4am:  Major roads in the CBD centre from Wynyard to Hyde Park including Macquarie St, Elizabeth St, Castlereagh St, Pitt St, King St, Bent St, Hunter St, Market St, Park St, Druitt St, roads in Millers Point including sections of Hickson Rd, Towns Place, Dalgety Rd, Wheat Rd at King St Wharf and Pirrama Rd in Pyrmont.

  • 8pm – 1.30am:  Darling Drive from Pyrmont Bridge Rd to Pier St at Darling Harbour.

  • 8.30pm - 9.30pm:  citybound lanes on the Anzac Bridge and Western Distributor. No access to the city use local detours via Rozelle and Glebe.

  • 10pm – 1.30am:  roads in Millers Point including sections of Kent St, Windmill St, Argyle St and Lower Fort St.

  • 10pm – 4am: roads between Wynyard and Town Hall including sections of York St and Clarence St between Margaret St and Druitt St.

  • 11pm – 1.30am:  Sydney Harbour Bridge closed in both directions, Anzac Bridge closed citybound, and Western Distributor fully closed between Pyrmont and the city. Roads in CBD West also closed including Sussex St and Kent St, and all roads in King St Wharf/Barangaroo.

  • 11pm – 4am:  additional closures in CBD South around Hyde Park including sections of Liverpool, Pitt, Castlereagh and Elizabeth Streets. At Central, Eddy Ave will close including surrounding local roads.

North Sydney

  • 7pm 30 Dec – 3am 1 Jan: r oads around vantage points in Milsons Point, Kirribilli and McMahons Point will close including Olympic Dr, Broughton St and Henry Lawson Ave.

  • 8am 31 Dec – 3am 1 Jan:  sections of Blues Point Rd, Alfred St and surrounding local roads will close.

  • 3pm 31 Dec – 3am 1 Jan: Blue St at North Sydney Station

  • 5pm 31 Dec – 3am 1 Jan:  roads in North Sydney, McMahons Point, Milsons Point and Waverton including sections of Miller St, Lavender St, Union St, Balls Head Rd, Pacific Hwy southbound, Blues Point Rd, Alfred St South, Walker St and surrounding local roads.

  • 8pm 31 Dec – 3am 1 Jan: the Pacific Hwy  northbound off ramp to North Sydney from Sydney Harbour Bridge.  Use the Miller St or Military Rd off-ramps instead for access to North Sydney.

 

Road closure maps

You can also browse through the full list of road closures or download the road closures and special event clearways map for  Sydney CBD and Pyrmont  and North Sydney .

View the Transport for NSW Sydney New Year’s Eve 2023 interactive map .

Car parks and street parking

No vehicles will be able to exit car parks in the city until the NSW Police Force reopens all roads. The road you drove on may be closed after you’ve left your vehicle.

It’s an offence to drive on closed roads and penalties apply. NSW Police Force will monitor roads and car parks to ensure public safety while closures are in place.

Street parking restrictions:

Special event clearway parking restrictions will be in effect from 6am on New Year’s Eve to 4am on New Year’s Day on most roads in the city, Pyrmont and North Sydney.

Clearways are strict no-parking zones for all vehicle types,  and apply even to local residents and businesses with parking permits or TfNSW Mobility Scheme permit holders. Vehicles left in clearways will be towed and a fee applies.

  • Sydney CBD and Pyrmont:  special event clearways will be in effect on most major roads throughout the Sydney CBD and Pyrmont from 6am on NYE until 4am on NYD. On some roads, clearways will be in effect from 2am NYE until 6am NYD including Macquarie St.

  • North Sydney and surrounds:  special event clearways will be in effect on roads in North Sydney, Milsons Point, Kirribilli, Lavender Bay Neutral Bay, Cremorne and Mosman between 1pm on New Year's Eve and 3am on New Year's Day.

Look for the bright yellow signs and check them carefully before parking your vehicle on New Year’s Eve. If your vehicle is towed, you can search your vehicle registration at the Find My Car website to find its new location, or alternatively call 132 701 to speak to an operator.

Cycleways and walkways

As roads close through the day and night, closures will also be in place on shared pathways, walkways and cycleways below. Follow directions of signage.

From 6pm 31 Dec 2023 to 2am 1 Jan 2024

  • Sydney Harbour Bridge walkway and cycleway (both directions)

From 7pm 31 Dec 2023 to 4am 1 Jan 2024

  • College St Cycleway Northbound between Liverpool St and Prince Albert Rd

  • Pitt St Cycleway between Alfred St and King St

  • King St Cycleway between Pitt St and Queen Square

  • King St Cycleway between King St Off-ramp to Clarence St

From 6am 31 Dec 2023 to 4am 1 Jan 2024

  • Cahill Walk on the Cahill Expressway Circular Quay overpass.

From 8pm 31 Dec 2023 to 1.30am 1 Jan 2024

  • Darling Drive Cycleway between Ultimo Rd and Murray St

From 8.30pm to 9.30pm 31 Dec 2023 and from 11.30pm to 1.30am 1 Jan 2024

  • Western Distributor walkway from Murray Street and Pyrmont Street to Wheat Road, Cockle Bay Wharf

From 10pm 31 Dec 2023 to 1:30am 1 Jan 2024

  • Kent St Cycleway between Liverpool St and Kent St on-ramp

From 11pm 31 Dec 2023 to 1:30am 1 Jan 2024

  • Kent St Cycleway between Liverpool St and Margaret St

From 11pm 31 Dec 2023 to 4am 1 Jan 2024

  • Liverpool St Cycleway between Castlereagh St and Harbour St

  • Hickson Rd Cycleway   between Napoleon St and Erskine St

Public transport  is your best option to and from the celebrations.