Mitchell Highway safety upgrade - Bathurst to Orange

Reviewed

Transport for NSW has been improving safety along a 50 kilometre section of the Mitchell Highway for the past few years with a number of projects now complete. The latest sections completed and now open to traffic include Vittoria Curve in May 2024, following Vittoria East and East Guyong which were completed in December 2023.

 

The road from Bathurst to Orange sees around 10,000 traffic movements a day and has a history of road crashes. In order to reduce road trauma, proven life-saving solutions are being installed at various locations.

Latest news

August 2025: Read how the Vittoria West safety upgrade is progressing in the August Community Update

View the August notification (PDF, 2.07 MB) for more information.

March 2025: Detour for road closure on the Mitchell Highway between Bathurst and Orange from Monday 31 March

Read the full media release and March notification (PDF, 297.93 KB) for more information.

November 2024 - Changed traffic conditions for early works on the Mitchell Highway at Vittoria from 4 November

View the November notification (PDF, 332.93 KB) for more information.

October 2024 - Mitchell Highway Safety Work takes a walk on the wildlife side

The next stage of work to improve road safety on the Mitchell Highway between Bathurst and Orange will not only focus on saving human lives, it will also focus on the preservation of local wildlife.

Read the full media release for more information.

September 2024 - Intersection upgrade is a pretty good reason to celebrate

Work to upgrade a busy Mitchell Highway intersection about 20 kilometres east of Orange is now complete and open to traffic, delivering safer journeys for the thousands of motorists who drive through it every day. View the media release for more information.

 

Project information

Background

Transport for NSW is delivering safety improvements for the Mitchell Highway, between Bathurst and Orange to improve safety for road users and reduce the risk of crashes along the 50 kilometre section of the highway. A number of emergency repairs have also taken place to improve the safety of all road users.

Project status

Emergency works:

Following severe weather at the end of 2021, major repair works were carried out between Bathurst and Orange. Extensive patching and pothole work was carried out along the Mitchell Highway along with safety upgrade work, including sealing road shoulders and widening centre lines

Emergency and incremental improvements were carried out at:

  • Summer Hill Lane
  • Shadforth
  • Cashens Lane Intersection
  • Houses Lane

Safer Roads Program:

Road safety improvements such as the construction of a westbound overtaking lane at Guyong, widening of the road at Vittoria East, and road surface improvements and culvert works at East Guyong have been recently completed.

Further safety improvements include the installation of flexible safety barriers to significantly reduce the severity of head on crashes and run off road crashes, widened centrelines to reduce the likelihood of head on crashes, and rumble strips (also known as audio tactile line marking) to reduce the likelihood of head on crashes and run off road crashes. Read more about the benefits of safety treatments on Towards Zero Saving Lives on Country Roads.

The aim of these safety improvements is to increase the separation of oncoming vehicles, alert drivers when they leave a lane, and provide a more forgiving road environment for when people make mistakes

Works will also include road widening, intersection upgrades, vegetation removal and drainage improvements throughout the project.

Next steps

A number of other sites are undergoing investigations for project development. We are committed to keeping our community informed and will provide updates when they are available (PDF, 2.03 MB).

Community information

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Project documents

Some documents on this page may not comply with accessibility requirements (WCAG).

If you are having trouble accessing information in these documents, please contact us.

 

Project notifications

Project updates

Reports

Fact sheets

REF documents

Media releases

Contact us

For further information about this project, please contact:

Phone: 1800 167 499

Email: western.projects@transport.nsw.gov.au

 

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