Tenders have been invited for construction of the first stage of the AU$1.6bn (£785m), 31km upgrade of the Northern Road in Sydney, Australia. Assistant infrastructure minister Jamie Briggs and New South Wales minister for roads, maritime and freight Duncan Gay said that construction is expected to start before the end of the year on stage one.
“With the $500 million Bringelly Road upgrade now under way, this is another important milestone in our joint $3.6 billion Western Sydney Infrastructure Plan which will create thousands of jobs and capitalise on the economic gains from developing an airport at Badgerys Creek,” said Briggs.
The Northern Road will be upgraded from two lanes to a minimum of four lanes between Narellan and the M4 motorway.
About 160 jobs will be directly generated during the 3km stage one upgrade with an extra 4,000 jobs to be supported throughout the 10 year package of works, which is expected to be completed before the first plane takes off from Badgerys Creek.
Detailed design is also under way for stage two and planning has started for stages three and four. Residents will also see construction start from July on the first projects, under the AU$200m local roads package.