Barton Highway Corridor Upgrade - Stage 2 - Barton Highway

The Barton Highway, a significant transport link between NSW and ACT is being upgraded by Transport for NSW. Stage 2 of this project will involve the upgrade of this highway, north from Kaveneys Road in Jeir to south of Gooda Creek Road in Murrumbateman.

This major corridor serves to connect communities to essential services, employment, health care, education opportunities and supporting freight movement. The Barton Highway Corridor Upgrade will connect to the national road network as a Sydney – Canberra link within the broader Sydney- Canberra-Melbourne road network.

Transport for NSW commenced work on Stage 1 of the corridor upgrade in December 2020 and estimates completion by late 2023. Stage 2 of the upgrade to the Barton Highway, including its numerous safety improvements, will benefit all motorists and support freight movement between Yass, the ACT, and southern and western NSW. This upgrade will also reduce crash rates along the highway to provide a safer, efficient, and more reliable journey for all road users.

Stage 2 of the Barton Highway Corridor Upgrade is currently in planning with consultation on concept designs and Review of Environmental Factors (REF) scheduled for in 2023.

The Barton Highway serves as an essential transport and freight link between southern and western areas of NSW and ACT.

In January 2017, the Barton Highway Improvement Strategy was published and outlined a variety of short (0-5 years), medium (5-10 years) and long-term (10-20 years) investment actions to address road safety and traffic delay matters, which constantly occur anywhere along the 52-kilometre corridor. A significant aspect of the short to medium term priorities was to design and develop additional overtaking lanes with full duplication of the Barton Highway listed as a long-term priority.

In order to achieve these priorities, the Australian government, in conjunction with NSW governments, have committed $200 million towards the Barton Highway Corridor Upgrade.

The purpose of the Barton Highway Corridor Upgrade is to address the growth in traffic due to population and economic growth in the region. As a result of the changing landscape, the Barton Highway Improvement Strategy identified a range of short to medium term actions to address safety matters along this major transport network. With Stage 1 of the upgrade already underway, Stage 2 of duplication is expected to run from the near Kaveneys Road in Jeir Gooda Creek Road in Murrumbateman.

In line with the Barton Highway Improvement Strategy, published in 2017, the following sections of the highway has also been added to the Stage 2 upgrade program to undergo a series of safety improvements including:

• realignment of Hillview Drive, Vallencia Drive and Gooda Creek Road intersections
• strategic business case for the proposed stages of duplication of the Barton Highway
• safety work including clear zones, improving bus stop locations, intelligent Transport System solutions for trip reliability and incident response management.

The Barton Highway Corridor Upgrade will bring major benefits to its customers, including safer and reduced travel times, along with transport efficiency, reliability and improved amenity for local communities.

Transport for NSW are currently developing the concept design for stage 2 of the Barton Highway Corridor Upgrade by undertaking consultation with key stakeholders, including Registered Aboriginal Parties. Transport for NSW aims to listen and take action, consult and collaborate, make safety the key priority and keep transport users informed of how the Barton Highway upgrade will benefit the community.

Following the confirmation of the concept design (Stage 2), Environmental assessment is scheduled to commence in early 2023.

• August 2022 factsheet

  Barton Highway Corridor Upgrade – Stage 2