Dignams Creek

The $45 million Princes Highway upgrade at Dignams Creek has reached a major milestone with major work completed in time for the 2019 April school holidays and Easter long weekend.

Major work began in April 2017 and since then over 600,000 tonnes of earth has been moved across the project. Traffic began travelling on the new section of highway in December 2018 and progress in the past three months includes road resurfacing, revegetation work and the opening of the new Dignams Creek Road intersection.

Motorists can now expect a safer journey and improved travel times.

Crews will remain on site for clean-up activities until mid 2019, weather permitting. This work will be carried out between 7am to 6pm, from Monday to Friday and 8am to 5pm on Saturdays.

We will give advance notice of any further work required outside these hours, including night work.

For the safety of road users and our workers, the speed limit on the Princes Highway may be reduced through the worksite at Dignams Creek. Traffic control may also be needed from time to time to keep the worksite safe as we carry out clean-up activities in the coming months. We will keep any delays to a minimum.

Roads and Maritime displayed a preferred road corridor for comment in December 2010 and spoke with affected land owners and local councils. The alignment displayed in December 2010 required both large scale bridge and road works and was estimated to cost over $85 million.

Due to the substantial costs associated with the option displayed in December 2010, Roads and Maritime reinvestigated options for the road corridor. A new alignment to the west of the existing Dignams Creek Bridge was developed to assist Roads and Maritime achieve a project that provided better value for money.

The western option has lower cuttings and embankments in the Dignams Creek valley and could be built at a considerably lower cost. The concept design for this preferred option was placed on display from 30 November 2012 until 8 February 2013.

The Review of Environmental Factors (REF) for the western option was displayed from 27 June until 29 July 2013. Roads and Maritime held two community drop in sessions during the display period at the Cobargo School of Arts on 16 and 17 of July. The drop in sessions gave the community an opportunity to get an update on the proposal and to ask questions.

A total of 14 submissions on the REF were received in response to the display. Roads and Maritime produced a submissions report that summarises the issues raised and provides responses to each issue, details additional investigations carried out since the REF went on display, and identifies new or revised environmental management measures.

Roads and Maritime will upgrade the Princes Highway at Dignams Creek, which is steep and winding in sections and has a history of crashes involving vehicles leaving the road on substandard curves. The upgrade will improve road safety by building a new two kilometre section of highway to current road design standards located to the west of the existing Princes Highway.

• Increased road safety by improving road alignment
• Increased road safety at the Dignams Creek Road intersection
• Reduced vehicle carbon emissions by improving grades and curves
• Improved travel times for motorists on the Princes Highway
• Safer crossings for local animals.

• Building a new section of highway to current road design standards
• Building a new bridge over Dignams Creek to replace the existing bridge
• Relocating the intersection of Dignams Creek Road and the Princes Highway
• Upgrading the existing southbound overtaking lane
• Revegetation of the existing Princes Highway.

In December 2010 Roads and Maritime Services developed a preferred road corridor for the proposed realignment of the Princes Highway at Dignams Creek. The realignment of the highway was mostly to the east of the existing Princes Highway and would have required large scale bridge and road works.

This option for the road corridor was announced as the preferred option in 2010 and was initially estimated to cost $85 million. As the design was refined this cost estimate increased, mainly due to necessary increase in bridge length.

In light of increasing costs of the preferred option, Roads and Maritime reinvestigated other corridors. A new alignment to the west of the existing Dignams Creek Bridge was found to be better value for money. This alignment involved a reduction in the amount of earthworks and a shorter bridge. Initial investigations found it to cost around $40 million, about half the cost of the eastern alignment.

A Review of Environmental Factors (REF) for this project was completed for the alignment west of the existing Dignams Creek Bridge and was displayed for community comment from 27 June until 29 July 2013.

The REF for the western option was determined in 2013 and detailed design finalised in the first half of 2016.

• April 2019 community update

  Dignams Creek Princes Highway upgrade.

• December 2018 community update
  Dignams Creek Princes Highway upgrade.

• February 2019 project notification

  Dignams Creek, Princes Highway upgrade new intersection opens to traffic from Wednesday 27 February 2019.

• October 2018 construction update

  Dignams Creek Princes Highway upgrade.

• Detailed design map

  Dignams Creek Princes Highway upgrade.