The Australian and New South Wales Government have announced the successful tenderer to undertake the design works on the highly trafficked section of the M1 Princes Motorway.
The Australian and New South Wales Government have awarded the design contract for the $84.1 million M1 Princes Motorway between Picton Road and Bulli Tops to GHD.
Federal Minister for Urban Infrastructure Paul Fletcher said the road 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.”
New South Wales 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 contract awarded today will cover the design for the first stage of the M1 improvements between Picton Road and Bellambi Creek and the second stage of improvements between Bellambi Creek and Bulli Tops. Design works are expected to start in the coming weeks and be completed by late next year.”
The Australian and NSW governments are jointly funding the upgrade, with the Australian Government committing $42 million, the NSW Government committing $42.1 million.