Work is now underway on Mitchell Highway upgrades at Neurea South to deliver safer trips for all motorists travelling between Orange and Wellington in the state’s Central West.
The Neurea South upgrade is the fifth of six projects between Orange and Wellington funded by the NSW Government through the Towards Zero Safer Roads Program. The program pairs road safety infrastructure with speed management, and aims to deliver lasting reductions in road trauma by upgrading the existing road network.
This stage will deliver about 1.6 kilometres of safety improvements south from the Mitchell Highway and Kinghorn Street intersection.
The improvements include:
- widening the road shoulder
- extending existing culverts so the road can be widened
- installing roadside safety barriers and new signage
- sealing the road and improving line marking
- installing audio tactile line marking (rumble strips)
Work at Neurea South follows the completion of upgrades at Neurea. That project upgraded the Dripstone Road intersection with the Mitchell Highway, extended existing culverts to improve drainage, widened the road shoulder and installed safety barriers and new signage. Rumble strips will be reinstated after the road is resurfaced.
Major work has also been completed at three other sites between Orange and Wellington:
Larras Lee: a widened centreline with a wire rope safety barrier along a 1.4-kilometre section of highway, plus a wider road shoulder, a maintenance bay, safety barriers, signage, drainage upgrades and new kerb and guttering. Rumble strips will be added after the final bitumen seal.
Cundumbul: a wider road shoulder along a 700-metre section of highway, with new safety barriers, signage and rumble strips.
Apsley: wider road shoulders along a 270-metre stretch of highway, with new safety barriers, signage and a culvert extension to improve drainage.
The sixth and final project in the package will provide around 2.5 kilometres of safety improvements from just north of the Mitchell Highway intersection with Speedy Street, on the outskirts of Molong, and is expected to start in 2027.
For more information, visit the Towards Zero Safer Roads Program.
Minister for Roads Jenny Aitchison said:
“Every person travelling the Mitchell Highway is someone’s mum, dad, son, daughter or mate, and they deserve to get home safely at the end of every trip.
“This $23.1 million investment across six projects will deliver safer journeys between Orange and Wellington. With the Neurea upgrades now complete and work underway at Neurea South, we’re making real progress on this important project.
“Wider shoulders give drivers more room to recover if they drift off the road, safety barriers help prevent serious crashes, and rumble strips give a vital wake-up call to tired drivers. These are proven measures that save lives on our regional roads.”
Labor Spokesperson for Dubbo Stephen Lawrence MLC said:
“The Mitchell Highway between Wellington and Orange is used every day by local families, farmers, truck drivers and visitors to our region, and they all deserve a safe road.
“These sites at Apsley, Larras Lee, Cundumbul, Neurea, Neurea South and Molong were chosen because they have a history of crashes. Wider shoulders, safety barriers and rumble strips will help prevent run-off-road, head-on and fatigue-related crashes on this stretch.
“The six projects deliver safer roads for locals in Wellington, Molong, and the wider Central West.”
Mayor of Dubbo Regional Council Josh Black said:
“The Mitchell Highway is the lifeline between Wellington, Orange and the rest of the Central West, and our residents, farmers and freight operators rely on it every day.
“I welcome this continued investment in safety on a stretch of road our community knows well, and we thank motorists for their patience while the work at Neurea is carried out.”
