The Barton Highway upgrade will hit its biggest milestone to date this month as the first vehicles travel on the final alignment for the first time.
The Australian and NSW governments have together committed $200 million towards the upgrade of the Barton Highway, with $150 million provided by the Australian Government and $50 million by the NSW Government.
All northbound Barton Highway traffic will switch onto the new lanes, while work is carried out to prepare the existing highway for southbound-only traffic.
When the reconfiguration of the existing highway is complete, the 7km length of duplication from just north of the NSW-ACT border to just south of Kaveneys Road intersection, will be open to 4 lanes, signalling the completion of the first stage of the Barton Highway upgrade.
Planning is now well underway for the second stage of duplication, which will start at the northern end of the first stage, near Kaveneys Road, and extend north towards Gooda Creek Road.
The Barton Highway project team will be at the upcoming Murrumbateman Field Days on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 October at Murrumbateman Recreation Grounds at site Y35 where the community can find out the latest updates on the project. Transport for NSW will also be promoting road safety and its Be Truck Aware campaign at sites Y36 and Y37.
More information will be shared with the community about the traffic switch, completion of the first stage of duplication, and next steps for the southern tie-in and second stage of duplication when available.
Get more information on the Barton Highway.
Federal Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King said:
"It is great to see strong progress on this project, which has battled the poor conditions of La Nina weather conditions resulting in higher-than-average rainfall.
"Despite this, work has carried on, with an impressive 254,000 cubic metres of earthwork completed and 60,000 tonnes of road surface rolled out."
Federal Regional Development, Local Government and Territories Minister and Member for Eden-Monaro Kristy McBain said:
"The Barton Highway is a strategically important rural highway linking the southern and western areas of NSW to the ACT, and this duplication will help improve safety for all motorists making this journey.
"The ultimate goal will be a fully duplicated Barton Highway between the ACT and the Hume Highway, providing motorists with consistent, separated 2-lane driving conditions in each direction and constant overtaking opportunities without the need to merge."
NSW Regional Transport and Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison said:
"We're improving safety by separating traffic with a central median, improving travel time and increasing capacity of this major highway to better meet the needs of the future population.
"We're also listening to the community and have another opportunity for the community to find out more about the overall project at the upcoming Murrumbateman Field Days on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 October at Murrumbateman Recreation Grounds."
Assistant Minster for Competition, Charities and Treasury, Assistant Minister for Employment, Member for Fenner Andrew Leigh said:
"The safety of the Barton Highway has been a serious problem for many years. This is a project that will save lives and improve the commute of the thousands of Canberrans who use the Barton Highway every day.
Many Canberrans have campaigned for years for the duplication of the Barton Highway. It's great to see state and federal governments working together to deliver for the community."
