INTERSECTION UPGRADES FOR HEALTH PRECINCT

Two Edward Street intersections will be upgraded to improve safety and efficiency for road users accessing Wagga’s health precinct.

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Paul Toole said the NSW Government was working closely with local residents and businesses to deliver the upgrades to improve safety and traffic flow around this increasingly busy health precinct.

“A number of design options have been considered, with the preferred concept design including lane configuration changes at the Docker and Edward street intersection, and the installation of new traffic lights and dedicated turning lanes at the Murray and Edward Streets intersection,” Mr Toole said.

“There is a history of crashes at the Murray and Edward Streets intersection, with the majority of incidents involving turning vehicles and rear-end collisions.

“Due to high traffic volumes and rapid growth in Wagga, traffic lights were found to be the safest and most efficient option to move traffic through this intersection.”

Member for Wagga Wagga Dr Joe McGirr said all work, which will be carried out by Transport for NSW, will be conducted under traffic control, with at least one lane of traffic open in each direction to limit traffic delays.

“We understand road work like this impacts the local community and day-to-day life, so we are working quickly to improve safety and ease congestion at these intersections,” Dr McGirr said.

“This project will not just cut congestion for local residents and those accessing the health precinct, but also for the freight and tourist vehicles moving along Edward Street as part of the Sturt Highway link between Sydney and Adelaide.”

The project is currently in the detailed design phase, with site survey and geotechnical investigations now complete.

Construction is planned to start in mid-2022 and continue for about eight weeks.