NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Dubbo MP Troy Grant said extensive community consultation had gone into choosing the best location.

Mr Grant said River Street met the needs of the community, council, the transport industry and fitted in with plans for the future traffic flow of the city.

The government had previously allocated $50 million for the bridge, but the preferred location also required a new road connecting the Newell Highway to River Street, including an intersection at Thompson Street.

Ms Berejiklian said she was pleased to be able to come to Dubbo and announce such a crucial piece of infrastructure.

“I know this will make such a huge difference to the region, not just in having another bridge crossing that isn't subject to flooding but also to really help with freight task,” she said.

“There are now around 37,500 vehicles crossing the Macquarie River every day and as Dubbo grows so are the pressures on existing crossings, which is why the new bridge is needed,” Ms Berejiklian said.

A timeline for the project wasn’t announced, but Mr Grant said it would “take some time” and would be done in stages “to minimise disruption and complement the route it’s taking along and across the river” but said the project would serve Dubbo into the future.

“What became apparent when the RMS undertook the task through the community consultation… is this is the preferred route, not just from a community perspective, but also for council, the transport industry and also for Dubbo's future transport network needs,” Mr Grant said.

The new bridge is expected to be built to handle one-in-20 year floods, and work will also be undertaken to improve the roundabout at the Whylandra and Victoria street intersections.

“We will see a fully signalised intersection there with enhanced capacity to ensure the movement between those two major highways is able to be achieved,” RMS director Roy Wakelin-King said.