Mitchell Hwy safety upgrade - Bathurst to Orange - Saving Lives on Country Roads

Reviewed

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

October 2023 - Nightworks on the Mitchell Highway at East Guyong from 15 October

Transport contractors will carry out asphalt work to provide an improved road surface. Work will take place from Sunday 15 October until Thursday 19 October. Work hours will be between 7pm to 5am, weather permitting.

Read the October community notification (PDF, 223.21 KB) for more details.

September 2023 - Nightworks on the Mitchell Highway at Vittoria East from 3 October

Transport will carry out the asphalting work at night to minimise impacts to traffic. The work will take place between:

  • Tuesday 3 October and Thursday 5 October 2023, and
  • Monday 9 October 2023, weather permitting. Working hours are 6pm to 6am.

Read the September notification letter (PDF, 230.67 KB).

May 2023 – Detour for nightwork between Bathurst and Orange extended

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 28 May and expect to complete this work in two weeks, weather permitting. These dates are:

  • Sunday 28 May to Thursday 1 June
  • Sunday 4 June to Thursday 8 June

Read the May notification letter (PDF, 229.42 KB).

Mitchell Highway Project Map

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.

 

Project notifications

Reports

Fact sheets

REF documents

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 Orange

  • February 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

 

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