A Review of Environmental Factors (REF) for the project has been completed and determined with the reports available for download in the project documents section of this page. As part of the development of the project ongoing investigations, including survey investigations, are being carried out to further develop and determine the project.

• Increase travel reliability between Narrabri and Moree
• Reduce travel times between Narrabri and Moree
• Reduce the cost of maintenance along the Newell Highway
• Reduce vehicle operating costs on the Newell Highway
• Improve road safety for road users
• Improve flood immunity of the Newell Highway between Narrabri and Moree.

The upgraded sections of the Newell highway between Narrabri and Moree would include:

• provide a heavy duty pavement to meet the existing and future freight needs along this section of the  Newell
• widen the existing highway or construct a new two lane highway adjacent to the existing highway of 3.5m lanes, 2m shoulders, and 1m wide centreline cross section
• provide new 1.5km long dedicated overtaking lanes in five locations
• upgrade intersections and right turning lanes
• retain or improve the 110km design speed alignments
• improve access to private property and bus stop layouts.

The Primary objectives are to:

• increase travel reliability and reduce travel times on the Newell Highway
• reduce vehicle operating costs on the Newell Highway
• reduce the costs of maintaining the Newell Highway
• improve freight efficiency
• improve the safety of the Newell Highway (reduce fatalities and serious injury crash rate)

Other supporting objectives are to:

• provide a 40year traffic loading design
• develop a proposal that contributes to the economic development of the region and improves transport efficiency on this section of the Newell Highway in terms of travel time and vehicle operating costs
• ensure that all potential impacts of the proposal on the local community are assessed and appropriate mitigation measures are developed
• ensure an adequate level of service for existing and predicted traffic volumes
• ensure route development minimises the impact on environmentally sensitive areas and that appropriate mitigation measures are included in the proposal to manage any impact
• ensure stakeholder involvement in all phases of the proposal development
• ensure compatibility of the road network and the long-term land use planning for the area.