He said he expected to traffic to build on Sydney’s main exit roads from about 3pm on Friday before dropping off for Christmas Day, and then peaking again on December 27.

“There’s the Boxing Day Test and the Sydney to Hobart that tend to keep people in Sydney, then they head off on the 27th,” he said. “The next wave we see after that is on the 2nd of January.”

Weeks said historically, traffic leaving Sydney tended to build up from about 7am on the key holiday departure days, and got especially bad between 9am and 10am.

“If there is that chance to leave early, you can escape the worst of it.”

Last month, Local Government NSW declared a statewide road emergency as a result of the rain, and said the local and regional road networks had collapsed under $2.5 billion worth of damage.

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“Families travelling during the upcoming summer holidays will find their trips to visit family and friends severely disrupted unless councils get the support we need to rebuild the road network,” LGNSW president Darriea Turley said.

“NSW communities are facing an unprecedented disaster which requires an unprecedented response.”

The association called for more support from state and federal governments to fix and maintain the roads.

On Wednesday, Farraway acknowledged the state of disrepair and said the government had given councils an extra $50 million to fix potholes over the summer. More funding would be rolled out through state programs.

Deputy Premier Paul Toole said a government commitment to take over ownership of more local roads, easing pressure on local councils, had been put “on the backburner” while the government focused on giving direct help to councils to fix rain-damaged roads.

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