$200m Barton Highway upgrade hits another major construction milestone

New South Wales’ Barton Highway upgrade will reach its most significant milestone to date this month as the first vehicles begin running on the final alignment for the first time. 

All northbound traffic on the Barton Highway will be switching onto the new lanes while works are carried out to prepare the existing highway for southbound-only traffic. 

“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 Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King said. 

Once configuration of the existing highway is completed, the 7-kilometre length of the duplication from just north of the NSW-ACT border to just south of Kaveneys Road intersection will be open to four lanes, which signals the completion of the first stage of the Barton Highway upgrade. 

On the other hand, planning is progressing well for the second stage of the duplication project that will commence at the northern end of the first stage, near Kaveneys Road, and extend towards Gooda Creek Road. 

“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,” Federal Regional Development, Local Government and Territories Minister and Member for Eden-Monaro Kristy McBain said. 

Barton Highway duplication (source: Transport for NSW)

On 21-22 October, the project team will be at the upcoming Murrumbateman Field Days at Murrumbateman Recreation Grounds – at site Y35 – and the community can pay the team a visit to find out the latest project updates. Meanwhile, Transport for NSW will be promoting road safety and its Be Truck Aware campaign at sites Y36 and Y37. 

More information on the traffic switch, the completion of the first stage of the duplication as well as next steps for the southern tie-on and second stage of the duplication will be shared to the community when they become available. 

“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,” NSW Regional Transport and Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison said. 

The scope of the Barton Highway Corridor Upgrade – Stage 2 will include: 

• Realignment of Hillview Drive, Vallencia Drive and Gooda Creek Road intersections 
• Strategic business case for the proposed stages of duplication of the Barton Highway 
• Safety work including clear zones, improving bus stop locations, intelligent Transport System solutions for trip reliability and incident response management 

Kaveneys Road intersection (source: Transport for NSW)

The early design for Kaveneys Road intersection – which will be delivered as part of Stage 2 – has also been completed. Key features of the design include: 

• A wide median measuring about 45 metres wide, allowing trucks to safely queue without blocking oncoming road users 
• Turnaround bays allowing safe turning movements for buses and heavy vehicles 
• Lanes allowing all turning movements, not just left-in, left-out 
• A less steep southbound carriageway, allowing more efficient up-hill acceleration 

The Barton Highway Upgrade is is jointly funded by the Australian and New South Wales Governments, each contributing $150 million and $50 million respectively. 

“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,” Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury, Assistant Minister for Employment, Member for Fenner Andrew Leigh said. 

Source: NSW Government – Media Releases; Transport for NSW (1, 2, 3); Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government