Work on the Australian and New South Wales governments' jointly funded $2.2 billion Coffs Harbour bypass is about to hit top gear with the site offices completed, a large part of the required workforce in place, local contractors engaged and more than 75 tender packages under assessment.
The Australian Government has committed $1.76 billion to the project, with the remaining $440 million coming from the NSW Government.
NSW Minister for Regional Roads and Transport Jenny Aitchison toured the project today, including an inspection of the newly completed site offices on North Boambee Road.
Residents of Coffs Harbour will see work start on some of the major elements of the project, including excavation for some of the cuttings.
Much of this work is happening in areas members of the public don't usually see but that will change soon with the start of bulk earthworks, followed by the Korora Bus Interchange and Englands Road interchange. Tunnel construction will start later in the year.
Other near-time activities will include work to establish access points to the corridor, drainage and bridge work, compound sites being developed, vegetation removal in the project corridor and along the project boundary and the installation of project boundary fencing.
Work will also start on building new road connections between Campbell Close and the Pacific Highway and between Russ Hammond Close and Korora School Road.
The Coffs Harbour bypass is scheduled to be open to traffic by late 2026 and be fully complete by late 2027.
Quotes attributable to Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Catherine King:
"This is work the people of Coffs Harbour have waited so long for.
"We expect the project will create about 600 direct jobs, including many for residents of Coffs Harbour and surrounds.
"To date, Ferrovial Gamuda Joint Venture has engaged 15 local companies including one Aboriginal company.
"These contracts are valued at about $13 million and include some key local companies like Ahoy Traffic Control, Gosling Electrical, Geoff King Mitsubishi and Jaybro.
"Another 77 tender packages are in assessment or negotiations, and these are worth more than $500 million.
"In coming months there will be about 76 tender packages in assessment or negotiation, valued at about $140 million."
Quotes attributable to NSW Minister for Regional Roads and Transport Jenny Aitchison:
"This project is going to be a game changer for the Coffs Harbour region.
"It will completely transform Coffs Harbour, saving motorists about 12 minutes in travel time, avoiding up to 12 sets of traffic lights and reducing the number of vehicles through the city centre by about 12,000 a day.
"It will make this idyllic coastal city a safer and even more attractive for people to live in, work and visit."
