The infamous ‘road to nowhere’ in the Upper Hunter region of NSW from Merriwa to Willow Tree, also known as Coulsons Creek Road, is finally getting fixed.
The major livestock link has been closed for more than three years after a botched upgrade and subsequent landslips.
According to one report, the detour around the closure adds about 45km and has been a cause of frustration for locals, particularly farmers who buy and sell livestock in the Tamworth region.
The rebuild by contractor the Daracon Group is now in full swing following more than $48 million in funding provided by the Australian and NSW governments.
Work is expected to be complete by mid-2025, weather permitting.
“Work on this road will restore an important connection between the Golden and New England highways, benefitting tourism in this beautiful part of regional NSW, logistics, distribution and supply chains,” said NSW regional transport and roads minister, Jenny Aitchison.
“Having three NSW government agencies working with the Upper Hunter Shire Council with multimillion-dollar contributions from the Australian and NSW governments demonstrates how all levels of government recognise the importance of this road.”
The Coulsons Creek Road Upgrade was originally announced in the October 2022 budget, with the Australian government committing $38.6 million and the NSW government contributing $9.66 million towards the project.
It would be nice if the Roads Mob would erect signage before the turnoff to that road heading north like I found a few months ago pulling a trailer I encountered a road closed sign down the hill a couple of hundred metres down from the turnoff so I had to do my magic to reverse to turn around without doing any damage to the trailer.