Project update

Thanks for having your say! The concept designs were unanimously adopted by Council on 12 December 2023. View the final concept designs or read the Engagement Report to find out what we heard.

Detailed design is underway, with construction anticipated to start in 2025. We will continue to update the community as the project progresses. For more information about upgrades to the Western Corridor, please visit the project page.

We recently sought feedback on a proposal to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion by widening and upgrading Longworth Avenue.

Longworth Avenue is a key connection from Minmi and Fletcher into Newcastle and to the Newcastle Link Road. Current and future development along Minmi Road has increased traffic congestion over time.

In February 2022, Council committed to upgrading Longworth Avenue to reduce congestion, increasing the width of the road to two lanes in each direction, and making changes to some intersections to reduce bottlenecks.

The proposed upgrades to Longworth Avenue will feature several key changes, all of which are aimed at reducing congestion to the immediate area and for the greater Western Corridor.

Key changes include:

• Longworth Avenue will be widened to allow two lanes of traffic in each direction (North and South), with clearway restrictions in place during peak travel times. In order to allow room for two lanes of traffic, on-street parking will only be available during non-peak periods.
• Right-hand turns from Longworth Avenue onto Bean Street, Cameron Street and Maitland Street will no longer be available. Bean Street and Maitland Street will become left turn in and left turn out only. This is to limit the amount of traffic building up behind cars waiting to turn right, and avoid delays in oncoming traffic from the turning lane. These changes will require road users to take alternative routes.
• Landscaping and street trees will enhance the look and feel of the area, whilst existing bus stops will be retained along Longworth Avenue with new shelters to be constructed.

• If you are travelling northbound along Longworth Avenue, you can continue northbound on Longworth Ave and use the roundabout near Bunnings to return southbound.
• If you are travelling eastbound on Newcastle Link Road, you can turn into Douglas Street, then left on to Cameron Street, and left on to Nash Street (for Bean Street access) or left on to Longworth Ave. Or you can turn right on to Cowper St (which leads into Cameron St), then right on to Nash Street.
• If you are traveling westbound on Newcastle Road, Collier Street/Maitland Street can be accessed from Abbott Street via Douglas Street.

Thanks for having your say!

Thank you to everyone who provided feedback. We heard that the upgrades were much needed to improve traffic flow.

Based on your feedback, the following changes were made to the final concept plans:

• No right hand turns from Longworth Avenue into Braddon Street, and no right hand turns from John Street onto Longworth Avenue.
• Removal of the existing no right turn (buses excepted) restriction at the intersection of Cowper Street and Longworth Avenue, allowing all vehicles to turn right from Cowper Street onto Longworth Avenue.
• Installation of a temporary one-lane roundabout at the intersection of Cowper Street and Newcastle Road.

Read the Engagement Report to find out what we heard.