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Major bypass project nears start date

Bypass

The biggest infrastructure project for Singleton, New South Wales, is approaching its start date, with the shortlist of contractors selected to design and build the New England Highway bypass released on 21 November 2022. 

The companies chosen as options for the project include:

The planned bypass of Singleton is reported to improve the movement of freight and journeys for current and future traffic demands, with potential benefits being observed in the aggregates sector due to the multiple quarries in the Singleton Area.

Speaking on the observable benefits to the region and the industry, Federal Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister, Catherine King, said that the bypass will solve a logistical problem and reduce the impact of large freight on the town centre.

“The bypass will remove one of the Hunter region’s most notorious bottlenecks,” King said, “The eight-kilometre project will bypass five sets of traffic lights in Singleton’s CBD and remove about 15,000 vehicles a day from the town centre, ease congestion and improve safety as well as deliver time savings for thousands of motorists each day.”

“The project will also deliver economic growth and will support more than 1,300 jobs during construction.”

The Australian Government has committed $560 million and the NSW Government is providing $140 million to deliver the bypass, with early work on the project scheduled to start as soon as late 2022, and the bypass expected to open to traffic in late 2026.

Additional environmental assessments, geotechnical and utility investigations, together with a survey to determine final project boundaries and ongoing discussions with impacted property owners are being conducted as part of work ahead of construction of the eight-kilometre project that will bypass five sets of traffic lights in the Singleton CBD.

Leveraging the concerns of the community and expanding on the details of the bypass, State Member for Upper Hunter Dave Layzell, said.

“The NSW Government has listened to the community and the bypass will include a full interchange with Putty Road and a new 600-metre-long bridge at the southern connection,” Layzell said.

“The project will also be designed to cater for a later upgrade to a dual carriageway where required to meet future traffic demands.”

For more information abut the New England Highway bypass project, visit the Transport for NSW Government website.

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