There is no doubt that regional and rural towns across Australia support the national economy to an extreme length. As the link for freight trucks carrying animals or produce, roads need to be up to a certain standard.
At Scone, northeast of Newcastle, this is exactly the topic at the table, with planning progressing well for work on the New England Highway bypass.
As Scone is a small community of around 4,000 residents, the constant trucks and heavy vehicles passing through can cause severe disruption. As a result, a bypass will ensure congestion through the town is limited, improving safety.
Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Warren Truss explained the importance of this project and what it will include.
"The New England Highway is an important route for freight vehicles between Sydney and Brisbane and this project will improve freight productivity and safety on the highway and resolve problems caused by the closure of level crossings during rail movements," he said in an August 3 media statement.
"The project involves building a bypass of Scone and a town centre road-over-rail bridge to improve safety and traffic flow as road and rail volumes through the area increase."
At a cost of $90 million, jointly funded by the Australian and NSW governments, authorities are working hard on a number of factors to ensure the project is done right. This includes reviewing the environmental factors, assessing the bypass concept design and analysing the strategic design.
Once civil engineers join this project, it will be important that they use the grout and mortar solutions considering the heavy use that the road will receive.
New South Wales Member for Upper Hunter Michael Johnsen is looking forward to the bypass project with the expectation that it will get underway next year. It should be completed by the middle of 2019.
"The town centre road-over-rail bridge is expected to benefit local traffic and emergency services by improving traffic flows through Scone," he remarked.
Further investment
The NSW government is committed to improving the state of the region's infrastructure as outlined in a June announcement. According to Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight Duncan Gay, there is a $7.5 billion investment out of this year's state budget.
With a number of projects in development across the state, the prospects for local civil engineering businesses seems to be on the rise.
If your civil engineering firm needs assistance with materials or local expertise, contact the expert team at Bluey Technologies today.