Thirty overtaking lanes to be built on Newell Highway: Melinda Pavey

An additional 30 lanes will be built on the Newell Highway from the Queensland border to Victoria, including 13 between Parkes and Narrabri. Overtaking lanes will be constructed outside Dubbo near Medway Road going south and at Marthaguy Road in both directions.

Each overtaking lane will be about 1.5 kilometres long.

As well as increasing safety and improving journey reliability, NSW Roads Minister Melinda Pavey said it would open a range of new jobs in Dubbo.

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“There’s a whole range of skills required from engineers to people on the tools, to graders, to surveyors,” Ms Pavey said.

“I implore our school counsellors in the Dubbo community, the mums and dads, and our young people to think about a career in construction. We have an enormous pipeline of work coming down the line in NSW and it’s a pipeline that can be fulfilled with both males and females.”

Roads and Maritime Services director western region Alistair Lunn said a side office would also be established in Dubbo to oversee the delivery of the 30 overtaking lanes, bringing more jobs to the city. 

There would be a focus on hiring women and Aboriginal people, Mr Lunn said.

The Newell Highway was the spine of productivity and freight in regional NSW, Ms Pavey said.

“Having got stuck behind a few vehicles [myself], those overtaking lane opportunities would be most welcome by the regular uses from a safety and a freight perspective,” she said.

“It’s a great road and it’s going to be even better because we set aside that leasing money from the poles and wires in Sydney.”

A new site – Building a Better Dubbo – has been established by RMS to keep people updated on the latest work around Dubbo.

“It encompasses all of the $200 million worth of work in one site where people can get information and join our email notification service to let them know about roadworks in and around Dubbo,” Mr Lunn said.

The website includes information on the New Dubbo Bridge, Newell Highway upgrades and the LH Ford Bridge strengthening.