Olympic Highway intersection upgrades submissions report released

The Olympic Highway intersection upgrades at Old Narrandera Road and Travers Street in Wagga Wagga are one step closer with the final submissions report and detailed designs released today. 

Transport for NSW will upgrade the intersections to improve road safety, traffic flow onto the highway, access between residential areas and services, and support future residential growth in the area.

A Transport for NSW spokesperson said close to 100 pieces of feedback were provided by the community on early concept designs and the Review of Environmental Factors and this feedback helped shape the detailed designs released today.

“The final designs will see traffic lights installed and additional lanes built at the Old Narrandera Road intersection to improve safety and efficiency,” the spokesperson said.

“The Travers Street intersection will be moved further south and traffic lights will replace the roundabout to cater to the increase of traffic at this intersection and improve efficiency.

“Following community feedback, the Travers Street design has been updated to include a turning bay at the northern end of Moorong Street to allow vehicles including cars, trucks and buses to turn and exit via the Kincaid Street roundabout.” 

The spokesperson said the intersection upgrades were a critical part of the solution to improve safety and manage and improve traffic flow in the area.

“We acknowledge the community’s concerns about long-term connections over the Murrumbidgee River to Wagga’s northern growth suburbs and are prioritising the best possible outcomes for Wagga.

“The intersection improvements are a short-term measure which will ease congestion and improve safety while investigations are carried out on Gobbagombalin Bridge.

“Prioritising this work has resulted in the Marshalls Creek Bridge upgrade project becoming a longer-term initiative.

“Meanwhile, traffic lights at both Old Narrandera Road and Travers Street intersections are expected to reduce crash frequency and severity by taking out risky decision-making by motorists.

“There were 14 recorded crashes across these intersections over the period from July 2018 to June 2022.”

Major construction is expected to start in early 2024 and take about 12 months to complete, weather permitting.

Transport for NSW will continue to keep the community updated as the project progresses.

The submissions report responds to all feedback submitted and is available at nswroads.work/ohiu.