The NSW government has awarded contracts to build the long-awaited $2.1 billion M1 Motorway extension to Raymond Terrace and the Hexham straight widening.
Paterson federal MP Meryl Swanson and NSW Regional Transport and Roads Minister Sam Farraway announced on Thursday that a joint venture between John Holland and Gamuda would build the 10-kilometre southern section of the M1 extension while Seymour Whyte Constructions builds the 5km northern section bypassing Heatherbrae.
The announcement came on the same day Transport for NSW warned of significant travel delays at Hexham before and after Christmas.
Work on the road from Black Hill to Raymond Terrace will start next year and is due to be completed in mid-2028, relieving pressure on one of the Hunter's worst traffic bottlenecks.
The two contractors will build their respective sections at the same time to speed up the project, which has been almost 20 years in the planning.
Ms Swanson said the awarding of the contracts marked a "full stop in what has been an extraordinary journey".
"People that I talk to, locals, have said that this project should have happened 20 years ago," she said.
"Well, if you're stuck on the Hexham road at the moment, you'd be saying it should be happening right now, and the good news is it is ... and we're finally going to see the M1 Raymond Terrace extension under way early next year."
The state government has also awarded a contract for the concurrent New England Highway widening at Hexham from four lanes to six to a joint venture between Georgiou Group, Daracon and SMEC Australia.
The federal government is providing 80 per cent of the funding for the M1 and Hexham projects and the NSW government the rest.
Transport for NSW regional director Anna Zycki said at a media conference at Hexham on Thursday that the motorway extension would be built with minimal disruption to traffic.
"The greater majority of the project is all being built off-line, so from the point of view of traffic disruptions that's an incredible bonus," she said.
"It means that most of the road can be constructed without any disruption to traffic whatsover.
"When we get to the traffic connections back to the existing highway we'll do quite a lot of planning with the contractors to look at how we can minimise disruption on those and do traffic switches that are sensitive to things like holiday periods and high traffic volume times."
Ms Zycki said Transport for NSW had completed a large proportion of the property acquisitions required to build the extension.
"There's still a few to go, but we're well on the way to having those completed," she said.
Mr Farraway said noise mitigation for residents living near the M1 extension would be "embedded" into the construction process.
The new dual carriageway extension will span a new bridge over the New England Highway and Hunter River before bypassing Heatherbrae to the east and connecting with the Pacific Highway's Raymond Terrace bypass.
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