BATTLE FOR THE BYPASS
NARROMINE IS A NICE LITTLE TOWN on the banks of the Macquarie River, half an hour to the west of Dubbo in western NSW. It’s probably best known for producing legendary Test cricketer Glenn McGrath.
The small shire of less than 7,000 people is also becoming increasingly well-known in the trucking industry for something else: as part of a de-facto 100km stretch of the Newell Highway.
The Newell is a national highway that runs for more than 1,000km from the Murray River at Tocumwal to the Queensland border at Goondiwindi, and it’s Australia’s third-largest freight corridor, behind the Hume and Pacific Highways. It’s the main route for trucks travelling between Victoria and Queensland, and forms a north-south spine for countless other highways and roads in regional NSW.
The federal and NSW governments, between them, have committed more than $1.2 billion over several years to improving the Newell, including $200 million for flood-proofing between West Wyalong and Forbes, and $170 million for a bypass of Parkes, which will allow trucks to avoid two rail level crossings. Bypasses are also planned for Boggabilla and Coonabarabran. More than 30 overtaking lanes are in the process of being built, numerous metre-wide centre line spaces and wide shoulders are going
