Upgrade at Main Rd & Heddon St, Heddon Greta

Motorists will soon be experiencing safer and smoother journeys with the completion of the Main Road upgrade at Heddon Greta.

The switching on of the new traffic lights is a win for residents and motorists and marks the near completion of the upgrade with just finishing work to complete.

This upgrade will benefit 24,600 motorists who use this road every day but also provide an important improvement in safety for the community.

With the intersection close to a growing residential area, the upgrade will also see an improvement in traffic flow and safety from Stanford Street to just north of Trenchard Street.

Transport for NSW is continuing work on the Main Road upgrade at Heddon Greta. We are focused on progressing the project while minimising impacts to residents and the local shops as much as possible. Road reconstruction work on the westbound lanes between Heddon Street and Young Street is currently underway.

From Wednesday 8 March we will be carrying out night work that is expected to continue until the Easter holidays. We will be working between 7pm and 5am from Sunday to Thursday.

For more information on the upcoming work and traffic changes, view the March 2023 project notification (PDF, 718.1 KB).

Stage one of the upgrade involved road upgrade work to facilitate the installation of traffic lights at the Main Road and Heddon Street intersection and providing two lanes in each direction at the intersection. This work has been funded and delivered by the Developer of the nearby residential estate and was required as part of the Developer's Development Application approval with Cessnock City Council.

To provide further traffic flow benefits to motorists, Transport for NSW has developed a second stage of work which would adjoin the upgraded intersection.

The NSW Government is investing $1 million through the Housing Acceleration Fund for the second stage of work and $2 million through the Traffic Efficiency Program, with a further $3 million provided through developer contributions.

This upgrade will manage traffic flow on Main Road and ensure the new Heddon Street intersection will operate effectively as traffic volumes increase, with significant residential development expected in the area over coming years.

The second stage of work involves:

• extending the two travel lanes in each direction on Main Road.
• extending the concrete median from Heddon Street to Stanford Street to improve safety by separating motorists travelling in opposite directions and preventing motorists from turning across multiple lanes.
• banning right turns in and out of Stanford Street, to reduce the risk of crashes. Motorists will be able to turn right by using the new traffic lights at the Heddon Street intersection.
• closing the access into Averys Lane from Main Road. Motorists will be able to access Averys Lane by using the new traffic lights at the Heddon Street intersection.
• introducing a no stopping zone along this section of Main Road and at the Heddon Street intersection.
• providing off-peak parking in front of the local shops. Parking will not be permitted between the hours of 6.30am and 9.30am and 3pm and 6pm weekdays.
• installing roadside safety barrier to help prevent motorists from veering off the road.
• providing a cycle lane to help cyclists travel safely through the intersection
• upgrading watermains.
• constructing the final road surface and traffic light posts at the intersection at Heddon Street

The traffic lights at Main Road and Heddon Street will be switched on when stage two has been completed.

View or download a copy of the project design (PDF, 553Kb).

There will be some temporary traffic changes to ensure the work zone is safe. A reduced 40km/h speed limit is in place. A reduced speed limit will be in place until completion of stage two.

Lane closures and traffic control will be in place during work hours and may affect travel times.

Work will be delivered in sections starting at the eastern end of the project. Parking will be impacted within the work area however we will notify residents and business before this takes place.

Please keep to speed limits and follow the direction of traffic controllers and signs.

During the holiday period from Friday 23 December to Sunday 8 January, the project site will be closed. During this time the shop car park will be open to all motorists and on street parking between Heddon Street and Standford Street will be available.

Work on the upgrade has been completed.

When will the traffic lights be switched on?

The traffic lights at Main Road and Heddon Street will be switched on when the stage two work has been completed in March 2023. The intersection has been designed to operate with two lanes in each direction on Main Road, which is part of the work currently being delivered. The traffic lights cannot operate until stage two has been completed as the traffic management during construction requires lanes to be shifted to allow road work to be carried out. The barriers and traffic control measures are needed to ensure the safety of motorists until the final lane configuration is in place.

Why is the work being delivered in two stages?

Work required under a Development Application (DA) is the responsibility of the developer. The DA outlines what is required and the first stage was designed and delivered by the developer to meet those requirements. As part of the review of the developer’s proposed intersection upgrade, Transport determined an additional stage of work would provide traffic efficiency benefits on Main Road into the future. A separate project was then developed and funding secured for delivery. Transport waited until the first stage was completed before progressing with construction to reduce issues with adjoining work areas, such as traffic management and construction access.

• March 2023 project notification (PDF, 718.1 KB)

  Project update and temporary traffic changes on Main Road, Heddon Greta from Wednesday 8 March 2023.

• November 2022 Project notification

  Traffic changes on Main Road, Heddon Greta from Thursday 10 November.

• August 2022 project notification

  Night work on Main Road, Heddon Greta from Monday 5 September.

• May 2022 project notification
  Road upgrade on Main Road, Heddon Greta restarting from Sunday 22 May.

• February 2022 project notification
  Progress update for Main Road upgrade, Heddon Greta.

• October 2021 project notification
  Stage two work starting on Main Road upgrade, Heddon Greta from Monday 11 October.

• September 2021 project notification
  Stage two work starting on Main Road upgrade, Heddon Greta from early October.

• September 2020 project notification
  Project update for Main Road upgrade, Heddon Greta.

• May 2020 project notification
  Have your say on proposed upgrade of Main Road and Heddon Street at Heddon Greta.

• September 2020 consultation report

  Main Road and Heddon Street upgrade, Heddon Greta.

• 27 May 2020 - Heddon Great community invited to help shape road upgrade