Redbank

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

The strategic partnership will deliver 38 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 delivery mode will result in approximately 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 next to seven of the overtaking lane projects.

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

Construction of a southbound overtaking lane extension on the Newell Highway at Redbank, 26 kilometres south of Coonabarabran, was completed on 26 February 2021.

The safety improvement work was completed in December 2021.

The completion of the overtaking lanes and road safety improvement works south of Coonabarabran 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.

• June 2021 project notification

  Completion of work.

• July 2020 project notification
  Work to start on extending the overtaking lane on Newell Highway, south of Coonabarabran, from Tuesday 21 July 2020.