After more than four million hours of construction, the Hunter’s largest road infrastructure project will open to traffic in the early hours of 11 September, delivering a new 15-kilometre motorway connection between Black Hill and Raymond Terrace.
The opening of the M1 Pacific Motorway extension marks a major milestone for the Hunter, closing a missing link in the Sydney to Brisbane economic corridor and strengthening one of Australia’s most important freight routes.
The M1 Pacific Motorway extension and Hexham Straight widening projects were jointly funded with a total investment of $2.24 billion – $1.79 billion from the Albanese Government and $448 million from the Minns Government.
It builds on Labor’s long record of investment in transforming the Pacific Highway.
Between 2007 and 2013, the former Federal Labor Government committed more than $8.7 billion to complete the duplication of the Pacific Highway and deliver bypasses of towns across New South Wales.
Since coming to government in 2022, the Albanese Government has committed a further $266.4 million to finish the remaining upgrades along the corridor, in addition to its investment in the M1 extension.
The new motorway will provide a direct connection between the M1 at Black Hill and Raymond Terrace, improving connections to jobs, businesses, communities and major regional infrastructure, including Newcastle Airport and the Port of Newcastle.
For motorists, it means cutting travel times by seven to nine minutes during peak hours and removing up to 25,000 vehicles a day from local streets.
For freight, it means a faster and more reliable connection through the Hunter and along the Sydney to Brisbane corridor.
The project has also been a major investment in local jobs and skills, with 70 per cent of the workforce drawn from the Hunter region and 99 apprentices and trainees gaining experience on the project.
More than 2,700 workers have helped deliver the extension, clocking up more than four million hours of work to get the motorway open around 18 months earlier than originally planned.
Construction of the motorway has been delivered on a remarkable scale, including:
- More than 1.6 million cubic metres of earth moved – enough to fill around 650 Olympic-sized swimming pools
- More than 720,000 tonnes of rock imported and placed across the project
- Construction of 11 bridges, supported by 278 bridge piles and 863 bridge girders
- More than 520 kilometres of drainage and wick drains installed
- 96 per cent of construction waste diverted from landfill
- 435 habitat structures installed to support native wildlife
After years of planning and construction, the M1 extension is now ready to become part of everyday life across the Hunter – delivering a new connection that will transform the movement of people and freight and support the region’s next era of growth.
