{"id":39012,"date":"2026-05-20T04:38:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T18:38:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=39012"},"modified":"2026-05-20T04:38:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T18:38:29","slug":"golden-highway-upgrade-at-merriwa-to-improve-safety-on-critical-freight-route","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/golden-highway-upgrade-at-merriwa-to-improve-safety-on-critical-freight-route\/","title":{"rendered":"Golden Highway upgrade at Merriwa to improve safety on critical freight route"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Work is now underway on a major upgrade of the Golden Highway at Merriwa, making one of regional NSW\u2019s key freight routes safer for<\/strong>locals and freight operators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Minns Labor Government is investing $23.7 million to deliver a new westbound overtaking lane on the Golden Highway near Merriwa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more than a decade, the Liberal\u2013National Government failed to deliver the safety improvements communities along the Golden Highway desperately needed, leaving residents of the Upper Hunter languishing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This project gets on with delivering the improvements that should have happened years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Golden Highway is a critical east\u2013west link connecting communities, industry and freight between Newcastle and Dubbo, playing a central role in supporting the Upper Hunter\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transport for NSW has been progressively upgrading the Golden Highway since 2016, investing $109 million as part of the NSW Government\u2019s Regional Freight Pinch Point and Safety Program with an additional $24 million contribution from the Australian Government\u2019s Heavy Vehicle Safey and Productivity Package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ongoing investment into the Golden Highway will ensure the corridor is able to support safer and more efficient journeys for all road users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This $23.7 million commitment includes $12 million announced during the 2023 election campaign and a further $11.7 million allocated in the 2025\u201326 NSW Budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The investment builds on the more than $133 million jointly invested by the NSW and Australian Governments to improve the Golden Highway between Newcastle and Dubbo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Site establishment will start from today (Tuesday, 19 May). Construction is expected to take around ten months to complete, weather permitting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acting Minister for Roads, John Graham:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCommunities along the Golden Highway spent years hearing the same promises from the former Government, while critical safety upgrades were left sitting on an ever-growing list of projects that never got off the ground. We\u2019re getting on with the job to make sure that changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInvestments like this are about more than a single overtaking lane or safety upgrade – they are part of a broader effort to strengthen and future-proof critical regional roads like the Golden Highway for decades to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe said we would invest in safer, more reliable regional roads, and that\u2019s exactly what we\u2019re doing here in Merriwa.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minister for the Hunter, Yas Catley:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Hunter locals know better than anyone the significance of the Golden Highway for the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom coal, grain, livestock, fertiliser and other goods, this stretch of road is part in parcel of the Hunter\u2019s booming economy. It connects towns like Merriwa, Denman and Dubbo to jobs, services, markets and most importantly, to each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis new overtaking lane will help locals and freight operators move more safely and reliably across the region at a time when demand on this road continues to grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Minns Labor Government said we would invest into this road, and that is absolutely what we are doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Labor Spokesperson for the Upper Hunter, Emily Suvaal:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCommunities across the Upper Hunter have been calling for upgrades to the Golden Highway for years, and this project is finally delivering those long-overdue improvements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis upgrade will make daily journeys safer and less stressful for the thousands of motorists and heavy vehicle operators who rely on this route every day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Work is now underway on a major upgrade of the Golden Highway at Merriwa, making one of regional NSW\u2019s key freight routes safer forlocals and freight operators. The Minns Labor Government is investing $23.7 million to deliver a new westbound overtaking lane on the Golden Highway near Merriwa. For more than a decade, the Liberal\u2013National … Continue reading “Golden Highway upgrade at Merriwa to improve safety on critical freight route”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39012"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39013,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39012\/revisions\/39013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}