Newell Highway new overtaking lanes

The Newell Highway Program took place as a four-year project to build 60 kilometres of new overtaking lanes between Tocumwal in the south of the state and Narrabri in the north. The completion of the project will improve safety, reduce travel times along the Newell Highway by about 30 minutes, allow more accurate travel planning and improve freight productivity.

BMD Constructions General Manager NSW/ACT, John Vida said the collaborative nature of the partnership with AECOM and Transport for NSW was critical to the success of the program.

“The successful completion of the Newell Highway Program is a testament to our long history of delivering major road transport projects across Australia, with the 1060-kilometre length of the highway presenting unique challenges across logistics, resourcing and supply of materials.” Mr Vida said.

“The alliance contract delivery fostered a collaborative relationship across the partnership that was essential for responding to challenges during the delivery phase, including drought conditions, COVID-19 and flooding, all while accommodating significant market capacity constraints and price escalation. I am particularly proud of what the Alliance has achieved. The partnership has been one of our most significant alliances between the private sector and government for a number of years.”

Working with local communities

Aligned with BMD’s philosophy to give back to the communities in which we operate, the NHPA proudly upskilled 322 employees through traineeships during the project, contributing economic benefits to the region and supporting the industry’s sustainable future in regional NSW.

Over the length of the program, over 5200 people were employed on the project including almost 2000 from the local community. The project also recorded over $20 million of the contract spent with Aboriginal businesses. This included more than 200 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people engaged across the four years of delivery.

As well as new overtaking lanes, the NHPA has delivered six road safety improvements. These included wider shoulders and centre lines to reduce off-road and head-on crashes, and the installation of audio-tactile line-marking on the edges and centre of the road along the highway.

The milestone opening of the Newell Highway was marked through a public event attended by representatives from the NSW Government. Member for Maitland, The Hon. Jenny Aitchison, MP and Member for Barwon Roy Francis Butler, MP attended alongside key BMD and AECOM personnel.