Mitchell Hwy safety upgrade - Bathurst to Orange - Saving Lives on Country Roads
Project overview
Safety improvements on the Mitchell Highway from Bathurst to Orange are progressing with emergency and incremental improvements at Summer Hill Lane, Shadforth, Cashens Lane and Houses Lane.

Works are also advancing at Guyong, Guyong East, Vittoria and Vittoria East under the NSW Government’s $50 million Safer Roads Program. 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
May 2023 – Detour for nightwork between Bathurst and Orange
Transport for NSW will carry out the work which includes asphalting to provide an improved road surface, maintenance and branch trimming. A night-time detour will be in place during the work, and we have included a map to show the location of the work and the detour. We will be working between 7pm and 5am from Sunday 14 May and expect to complete this work over a period of three weeks, weather permitting. These dates are:
- Sunday 14 May to Thursday 19 May
- Sunday 21 May to Thursday 25 May
- Sunday 4 June to Thursday 8 June
Read the notification letter (PDF, 274.51 KB).
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Project information
Background
Transport for NSW is delivering safety improvements for the Mitchell Highway, between Bathurst and Orange. Along with the NSW Government investing $50 million 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 include:
Summer Hill Lane: Motorists are enjoying a 1km length of widen road with improved road shoulders and a wider centre line to increase space between oncoming traffic. Wide centre lines are estimated to reduce head-on crashes by 50 per cent.
Shadforth: 1.7 kilometres of the road has been upgraded with an enhanced centre line and smoother road surface completed as part of these works.
Cashens Lane Intersection: A new road surface has been installed across 500 metres of this intersection.
Houses Lane: A new wide centre line has been created and road shoulders widened along 1km of the highway.
Safer Roads Program:
Road safety improvements are advanced with 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.
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
Construction is currently underway for our projects at Guyong, East Guyong and Vittoria East. 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.
Community information
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Have your say/Survey
We are seeking feedback on your experiences travelling the Mitchell Highway between Bathurst and Orange, and how this experience might be improved in the future.
This feedback, along with feedback received during consultation previously carried out by Transport for NSW, will be used to give us a better understanding of customer needs to inform further improvements.
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.
Community notifications
- May 2023 community notification (PDF, 274.51 KB)
Night detour on the Mitchell Highway at Vittoria Curve between Bathurst and Orange from 14 May - September 2020 community notification
- July 2020 community notification
Project notifications
- April 2023 project notification (PDF, 237.71 KB)
Night work on the Mitchell Highway at Vittoria Curve from Wednesday 26 April. - March 2023 project notification (PDF, 249.93 KB)
Changed traffic conditions for day and night work on the Mitchell Highway at Vittoria Curve from Monday 27 March. - December 2022 project notification
Night detour of the Mitchell Highway between Bathurst and Orange from Tuesday 6 December.
- November 2022 project notification
Changed traffic conditions on the Mitchell Highway at Vittoria.
September 2022 project notification
Detour for night work on Mitchell Highway at The Rocks continuing from Sunday 18 September.September 2022 project notification
Night work on the Mitchell Highway between Bathurst and Orange at Vittoria East.September 2022 project notification
Detour for night work on Mitchell Highway at The Rocks.May 2022 project notification
Detour for night work on Mitchell Highway at The Rocks from Sunday 29 May.May 2022 project notification
Changed traffic conditions on the Mitchell Highway at Guyong from Monday 9 May.April 2022 project notification
Safety works Mitchell Highway Vittoria East from 27 April.April 2022 project notification
Night works on Mitchell Highway, Guyong from Sunday 10 April.March 2022 project notification
Detour for night works on the Mitchell Highway at East Guyong from 30 March to 2 April.March 2022 project notification
Mitchell Highway night works for essential maintenance from Wednesday 23 March.February 2022 project notification
February 2022 Detour for night work on the Mitchell Highway at Guyong from Monday, 7 March.December 2021 project notification
Detour for night work on the Mitchell Highway at Guyong from Monday, 13 December.February 2021 project notification
Changed traffic conditions for night works on the Mitchell Highway between Bathurst and Orange.January 2021 project notification
Controlled blasting starts on the Mitchell HIghway between Bathurst and Orange at Guyong.
Fact sheets
REF documents
- October 2020 REF
Mitchell Highway East Guyong safety upgrade.
May 2020 REF
Mitchell Highway Guyong overtaking lane and safety upgrade.
Media releases
- December 2022
Night-time repairs for the Mitchell Highway between Bathurst and Orange
July 2021
Reduced speed limit along Mitchell Highway near Thompson Road in OrangeFebruary 2021
Work continues for a safer Mitchell Highway at East Guyong
Contact us
For further information about this project, please contact:
Phone: 1800 167 499
Email: western.projects@transport.nsw.gov.au