The Australian Government and the NSW Government have committed to flood mitigation works on the Newell Highway between West Wyalong and Forbes.

Transport for NSW (Transport) is investigating potential flood mitigation solutions for the Newell Highway between Compton Road, West Wyalong and Hereford Street, Forbes. The primary objective of the project is to reduce the amount of time the Newell Highway is closed between West Wyalong and Forbes during and after flood events.

Comprehensive flood studies have found the Newell Highway between West Wyalong and Forbes is particularly susceptible to flooding by the Lake Cowal/Bland Creek catchment at Marsden.

Studies have also identified which causeways across the highway flooded first in 2022, stayed closed the longest, the depth of water at each and the susceptibility of the pavement to damage caused by the floodwaters.

On the basis of these studies, Transport is investigating around 11 kilometres of flood mitigation treatments at Marsden as this will significantly reduce the length of time the highway is closed during and after any future flood events.

Proposed treatments include installing box culverts (small bridges) to allow water to pass freely under the highway, raising the road level and laying a more robust pavement that would allow the road to remain open to traffic for longer during flood events.

For more information, please see our June 2023 Community Update.

Thank you for your feedback

Between Tuesday 20 June 2023 and Thursday 27 July 2023, Transport carried out public consultation on the strategic options for the Newell Highway Flood Mitigation – West Wyalong to Forbes project.

Residents, businesses and stakeholders in the Bland Shire, Weddin Shire and Forbes Shire Local Government Areas (LGAs) were invited to provide feedback on the project.

The Strategic Options Consultation Report summarises the community and stakeholder engagement activities undertaken during the consultation period and includes a summary of the feedback received.

Transport thanks all community members and stakeholders who provided valuable feedback, which the project team will use to help inform the project design.

Next steps

The next phase of the project involves the preparation of the concept design and the Review of Environmental Factors (REF).

Transport recognises that flood mitigation treatments can alter the local environment and we will be carefully considering all potential impacts of the project through our environmental assessment process. We will actively look at ways to reduce the impact of the upgrade on the community, stakeholders and the environment.

Once prepared, both the concept design and the REF will be displayed for public comment.

We will continue to keep the community informed as the project progresses.

Privacy collection notice

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Where we conduct a consultation with or on behalf of a partner agency, we would usually share the information that we collect with that agency. In this instance, we are running this consultation with:

• Transport for NSW

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