Upgrades underway for Werris Creek Road Black Spot

20 Apr 2020

Member for New England, Barnaby Joyce, has welcomed the start of work on the federally-funded sectional upgrade of Werris Creek Road.

The one-kilometre stretch about 20km from Tamworth (four kilometres past Duri village towards Currabubula) will be widened by two-metres to improve safety for road users.

Mr Joyce said Tamworth Regional Council will carry out the $470,000 project which is funded by the Australian Government under its 2019-20 Black Spot Program.

“From the big centres to the back roads, we are delivering safer roads for people right around the New England,” Mr Joyce said.

“And with fewer motorists on the road, given current COVID-19 travel restrictions, now is the perfect time to get this work completed and eliminate one more black spot from our region’s roads.”

The project includes removing a slight dip in the road and installing a wide centreline with audio tactile line marking. 

The section of road has been the site of two head-on crashes in the last five years with one resulting in a fatality and one serious injury.

Tamworth Region Mayor Col Murray said funding from the Black Spot Program has made a strong ongoing contribution to help make local roads safer.

“Our region has more kilometres of road to manage than any other in NSW and this support from the Australian Government has been invaluable at many locations over the years,” Cr Murray said. 

“We know considerable numbers of drivers use the Werris Creek Road to travel back and forward to work daily or access various services and making it safer for everyone is something we welcome.”

During road works, the speed limit will be reduced to 40km/h in the construction zone at all times.

While construction is in progress on weekdays between 7am to 5pm, traffic will be reduced to one lane. A team of traffic controllers will be on site to manage the flow of vehicles each day while construction crews are working. When construction ends for the day, traffic lights will regulate vehicle movements. Drivers can expect brief delays while staff are operating stop/go signs but the delays will be longer when the traffic lights operate after 5pm.

Drivers on Werris Creek Road are asked to take extra care and obey the construction signage including the reduced speed limit.

Construction is expected to take about six weeks.

(ENDS)

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