A multinational technical services company has been awarded the design contract to deliver new safety upgrades on the M1 Princess Motorway between Picton Road and Bulli Tops in NSW.
The contract, awarded to GHD, will cover the design for the first stage of the M1 improvements between Picton Rd and Bellambi Creek, and the second stage of improvements between Bellambi Creek and Bulli Tops.
NSW Minister for Urban Infrastructure, Paul Fletcher, said the $84.1 million upgrade would serve the 37,000 vehicles a day that use this section of road, 14 per cent of which are heavy vehicles.
“The road is steep with tight turns, requiring heavy vehicles to travel slowly, which can lead to delays and congestion on this route in morning and afternoon peak hours,” Mr Fletcher said.
“The improvements will tackle these issues by widening and realigning the road and adding a new lane in each direction to create a six-lane divided road.”
NSW Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight, Melinda Pavey, said the additional lanes were designed to improve road safety by increasing separation between slower and faster moving vehicles, and increasing traffic efficiency.
“The improvements will also increase reliability of access into and out of the Illawarra region and Port Kembla including for general freight, larger restricted access vehicles and high-performance freight vehicles,” Mrs Pavey said.
The Australian and New South Wales Governments are jointly funding the upgrade, with the Australian Government committing $42 million, the NSW Government committing $42.1 million.