Traffic lights will be switched on at Baird Street next week, completing the $40 million Newell-Mitchell highway intersection upgrade ahead of schedule and under budget.
Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton said this marked the final piece in the puzzle of the 18-month upgrade to the four-lane Newell-Mitchell highways intersection to improve road safety and improve efficiencies.
“We’re pleased to deliver this critical upgrade to ensure safer and more efficient journeys for motorists, as well as meeting existing and future freight needs at two of the busiest intersections in the region,” Mr Coulton said.
“The Newell and Mitchell highways provide an essential link for locals and other traffic travelling through Dubbo and the surrounding region, so ensuring congestion was reduced here was essential.
“The new traffic lights that replaced the existing roundabout at the Newell-Mitchell intersection were switched on in mid-October, as well as new pedestrian crossings and additional merge lanes.
“As a direct result of community feedback, the adjacent Newell Highway and Baird Street intersection also received an upgrade to ensure the best possible traffic flow through the precinct.
“This involved widening the lanes, installing dedicated right-turn lanes and replacing the roundabout with a set of traffic lights.”
State Member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders said this was just one of five projects the NSW Government is delivering as part of the $301.2 million Building a Better Dubbo program to cut down travel time, make roads safer and ease congestion in and around Dubbo.
“On top of delivering safer, smoother journeys for road users, the project has also provided work for more than 400 people since work kicked off in April 2020,” Mr Saunders said.
“These game-changing intersections will ensure better traffic flow for the local community and other motorists moving through these major intersections in the Central West.
“We’re also particularly proud of the strong Aboriginal participation in this project, with about 50 workers employed as part of the Aboriginal Participation in Construction program.
“We know this process has taken a long time, but by working together we’ve now got a congestion-
busting solution we can all be proud of.”
The project is now open to traffic, with traffic lights at both the Newell Highway and Mitchell Highway intersection and the Newell Highway and Baird Street intersection in operation.
