Firetail

Transport for NSW has partnered with BMD and AECOM to form the Newell Highway Program Alliance.

The strategic partnership will deliver about 40 additional overtaking lanes in an estimated four years rather than the likely eight years it would take to fund and deliver this work using traditional procurement methods.

This innovative mode of delivery will result in a minimum of 60 kilometres of new overtaking lanes to improve safety, reduce travel times, allow more accurate travel planning and improve freight efficiency.

The new overtaking lanes are expected to provide around 33 minutes of travel time savings along the length of the Newell Highway from the Victorian to the Queensland border.

The Australian Government has approved $76.54 million for safety improvement works to be carried out adjacent to six of the overtaking lane projects.

The road safety improvement work includes widening the road shoulders and centreline, and installing rumble strips along the highway.

Construction of the northbound and southbound overtaking lanes and road safety improvement work on the Newell Highway at Firetail Rest Area, six kilometres north of Grong Grong, started on Wednesday 4 November 2020 and was completed in October 2021.

The completion of the overtaking lanes and road safety improvement works on this section of the Newell Highway will provide road users with a safer road, an increase in road capacity and overtaking opportunities helping improve journey reliability and travel times.

Other benefits of the project include:

• improved safety for all road users
• reduced travel times
• more accurate travel planning
• improved freight efficiency.

• Firetail postcard

  Firetail overtaking lanes and road safety improvement works north of Grong Grong.

• November 2020 project notification
  Work to start on new overtaking lanes on the Newell Highway between Ardlethan and Grong Grong, from Wednesday 4 November 2020.