Warringah Freeway commences at the interchange with Gore Hill Freeway and Willoughby Road in Naremburn and heads in a southeasterly direction as a six-lane, dual-carriageway road, curving to a southward direction through Cammeray, slowly expanding to 10 lanes across multiple carriageways after the Brook Street exit, and to 16 lanes across the whole corridor for a short distance before the North Sydney northbound onramp.

The carriageway change over process was automated around 1990, with moveable barriers and overhead signage directing traffic onto the correct lanes.

A large amount of residential and commercial property, half a golf course, and a cemetery were resumed by the government to build this freeway.

The changeover process was slow both on the freeway and the Harbour Bridge, with large numbers of red plastic 'candle sticks' or 'candy bars' being manually moved four times every weekday.

The original north termination point of the freeway was Chandos Street, Cammeray; with a small extension being added to Willoughby Road in 1978.

[7] A 24-hour Bus Lane (buses, taxi cabs and hire cars) was added after the Sydney Harbour Tunnel opened in 1992.

The stated reason for this change is to remove all the traffic which enters the freeway at North Sydney, then exits again at Military Road, adding to peak hour delays.

Various proposals over the years have been made to complete Warringah Freeway to the area of its name, due to the chronic traffic problems afflicting the North Shore from Mosman to Chatswood.

In the early 2000s, one proposal from the Liberal state opposition was for the construction of a six lane tunnel starting at the Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation in Balgowlah, joining with Gore Hill Freeway.

The works were expected to take about seven years and would involve significant impacts to adjacent parks (St Leonards and Cammeray Golf Course) during and after construction.

[12] In September 2021, the design and construction contract for the Warringah Freeway upgrade was awarded to CPB Contractors and Downer EDI.

However, a toll is charged when entering or exiting Warringah Freeway (north) to and from Military Road (A8) and Falcon Street.