Barton Highway

After a difficult few years for road building due to La Niña conditions, the first stage of Barton Highway duplication is nearing completion.

We are expecting to open the new lanes to traffic by the end of this year, with a small amount of work planned for early 2024 to retrofit the existing lanes.

Over the coming months, our delivery team will be working on laying and compacting one final layer of road surface to make the highway strong, smooth and provide better ride quality.

Meanwhile, early geotechnical investigations have been completed along the second stage of duplication.

The findings from these investigations will help inform the concept design, which we will be sharing with you later in the year.

Find out more in the latest community update (PDF, 1.6 MB).

Road users are advised of changed traffic conditions on the Barton Highway at the intersections of Nanima Road as part of the Barton Highway Upgrade.

To limit impacts on the community, work will be carried out at night, and will include removing a culvert, installing a new drainage line and completing road work at the intersection. 

Work will be carried out for three nights from Monday 3 April between 6pm and 7am. Work is expected to be completed by 7am Thursday 6 April, weather permitting.

Traffic control, partial lane closures and reduced speed limits of 40 km/h will be in place for the safety of workers and road users.

A community update sharing our work so far on the first and second stages of the Barton Highway is now available.

Despite the Stage 1 project receiving a monthly record of 200 millimetres of rain in October, Stage 1 work is progressing with the road foundation layers nearing completion from Church Lane to Gooromon Ponds and work starting on the southern interim tie-in.

The update includes details about our recent community events, Stage 1 work that we’ve completed and the latest updates for Stage 2.

Tree planting success

More than 900 plants have been planted along the Barton Highway corridor to help create habitat connectivity and linkages along the western side of the dual carriageway that is currently being built.

We had a great turn-out of local community members at a community tree planting day in August, with local Landcare groups, Traditional Owners and Transport staff working together to plant 400 trees and 560 shrubs.

Volunteers planted seedling-sized plants across nine sites to create stepping stones of the box gum grassy woodland which are expected to grow significantly over the next three months following spring rainfall.

These stepping stones will link box gum woodland at Hall to a significant biodiversity corridor near Rolfe Road which crosses the highway and leads towards the Murrumbidgee River.

Specific species were carefully chosen due to their existing presence in our local environment and to ensure they are suitable for the local soil and climate conditions.

Transport worked with local Landcare groups to develop a list of species that are climate-ready and create a seamless linkage throughout the existing landscape to establish a box gum grassy woodland. The chosen species will create the critically endangered ecological community of the box gum grassy woodland of which there is only 10 per cent estimated to be left in reasonable condition.

The smaller shrubs, including wattle, will create a really important habitat for small birds and other animals and are expected to attract species such as sugar gliders.

Looking further into the future, 100-year-old mature eucalypt trees which are able to develop hollows will be a critical breeding habitat to other endangered species such as the Swift Parrot.

• Autumn 2023 community update (PDF, 1.6 MB)
• Summer 2023 community update
• Winter 2022 community update
• Summer 2022 community update
• Winter 2021 community update
• Autumn 2021 community update
• Summer 2020 community update
• June 2020 community update
• Autumn 2020 community update
• Summer 2019 community update
• October 2018 project update
• May 2018 project update

• 22 December 2021

  Trees of cultural heritage significance to be protected during duplication of Barton Highway.

• 1 September 2021
  New animation brings Barton Highway upgrades to life.

• 18 June 2021
  A glimpse of life at Dellwood.

• 25 March 2021
  Major work under way on Barton Highway duplication.

• 24 February 2020
  Barton Highway Review of Environmental Factors on display.

• 6 February 2020
  Have your say on the Barton Highway upgrade.

• 28 October 2019
  Plans rev up for Barton Highway upgrade.

• 17 October 2019
  Barton Highway key route to field days.