Works to upgrade a section of the New England Highway in New South Wales’ Upper Hunter region will soon commence as tenders for the construction of the Belford to Golden Highway Upgrade Package are opened for submission.
This upgrade project is going to be delivered through two separate work packages, which are:
“This will involve building a new 30-metre-long bridge over Mudies Creek, three metres above the current road level and high enough to withstand a one-in-a-100-year flood.
“This upgrade is another example of how we are working to deliver better road safety and productivity benefits for the Upper Hunter region and New South Wales as a whole,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said.
The Australian and New South Wales Governments are jointly funding $16 million for the Mudies Creek Bridge project while the State Government will be investing $97 million for the upgrades between Belford and Golden Highway.
“More than 22,000 motorists travel along this section of the highway each day, including about 2000 freight vehicles, which is why progress on this upgrade is so important.
“We know how important projects like these are to local communities, not only when delivered, but also during construction, with these upgrades expected to support about 280 jobs,” NSW Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Paul Toole said.
According to Federal Member for New England Barnaby Joyce, the new bridge over the Mudies Creek will make a big difference to the lives of locals who use this section of the Golden Highway each day.
“This project, carried out as part of a package of work being delivered on the Golden Highway between Whittingham and Dubbo, will improve safety, traffic efficiency, network reliability and freight access.
“This will be a game-changer for locals and tourists because in heavy downpours, they’ll have peace of mind that they can still get to where they want, when they want,” Mr Joyce said.
Once completed, the two projects will help strengthen efficiency as well as productivity across the local road network.
“Transport for NSW is inviting interested and suitably qualified companies to submit a tender to build the upgrades.
“This involves upgrading the New England Highway to provide two travel lanes in each direction from Belford to the Golden Highway, and building a flyover for vehicles turning right from the Golden Highway towards Maitland and Newcastle,” NSW Member for Upper Hunter Michael Johnsen said.
Submission of tenders will close in January 2021 and the successful contractor will be announce soon after. For more tender information, you can visit the NSW Government’s eTendering website.
Construction on the projects will commence in 2021, taking approximately three years to complete, weather permitting.
Source: Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development; Transport for NSW