Upgraded stretch of Great Western Highway opens

A new four-lane section of the Great Western Highway is now open to traffic at the foot of the Blue Mountains, delivering an improved link between Sydney and the state’s Central West.

The $232 million Coxs River Road Upgrade at Hartley has been jointly funded by the Albanese and Minns Labor governments to ensure safer journeys for locals, tourists and freight operators.

All Great Western Highway traffic was switched to the new 2.4-kilometre alignment early this morning.

The striking feature of the project is the 70-metre long road bridge taking local traffic safely on Coxs River Road over the new four lanes of highway traffic.

The bridge and road have been built from locally sourced materials including concrete from Lithgow and quarry materials from Oberon. The bridge rests on 14 precast Super T girders, each one 34 metres long and weighing 60 tonnes.

With the new alignment now open to traffic, crews will remain on-site for a few more months to complete shared path and landscaping along the old highway.

Read the full media release here (PDF, 82.96 KB).