Newell Highway upgrade milestone

The $261 million upgrade of the Newell Highway, between Narrabri and Moree, has reached a major milestone.

Two new overtaking lanes are now open to traffic south of Edgeroi, in addition to a further three lanes previously completed.

The new northbound and southbound overtaking lanes south of Edgeroi were completed in the final week of June. This follows the opening of three overtaking lanes on the Newell
Highway between Moree and Bellata in the last 12 months.

All five new overtaking lanes have been delivered as part of the jointly funded heavy duty pavement upgrade of the Newell Highway between Narrabri and Moree.

These upgrades will improve safety for motorists and reduce future maintenance requirements and costs.

Transport for NSW acting regional director west Holly Davies said more overtaking opportunities will make trips safer and more efficient for all road users on this major inland regional route.

“The completion of the new overtaking lanes is a key milestone of the ongoing upgrades between Narrabri and Moree,” Ms Davies said.

“The Newell Highway is travelled by thousands of locals, tourists and freight operators every day so it’s vital a mix of road users are catered for.

“Extra overtaking lanes help the flow of traffic and reduce some of the frustration that can come from not being able to safely pass.”

The Newell Highway heavy duty pavement Upgrade is being delivered in four priority sections and includes upgrading 20 kilometres of the highway between Narrabri and Moree with new heavy duty road pavement, intersection improvements and wider road shoulders.

With the two newest overtaking lanes open and traffic now traveling on the newly built section of highway at Edgeroi, all work is now completed for three of the four sections.

Work is continuing about 12 kilometres north of Narrabri with construction of the largest heavy vehicle rest area in north-west NSW.

Improvements have also been made to the access of the e University of Sydney I.A Watson Grains Research Centre.

Work has included widening the road on a 700-metre section of the highway to provide a new dedicated right hand turning lane and line marking.

Work includes foundation and drainage work and installing a large culvert at the intersection of Murrumbilla Lane to improve the highway’s flood resilience.

Some native tree planting has been carried out in the vicinity of the rest area with more to be planted after the rest area is completed.

Construction on the Newell Highway heavy duty pavement upgrade began in early 2022 and work is on track to be completed later this year.

The project is a joint initiative between the federal and state governments.