Background

A 12.5 kilometre section of the F3 Freeway between Mount Colah and Cowan has been widened from four to six lanes. The project is improving traffic flow and road safety while reducing travel times.

There are now three travel lanes in both directions between Wahroonga and Kariong (approximately 43 kilometres), providing six lanes between Sydney and the Central Coast.

This $104 million project was jointly funded by the NSW and Australian governments.

The F3 Freeway between Sydney and Newcastle is part of the AusLink National Network. Approximately 65,000 motorists and 7000 freight vehicles travel daily between Sydney, the Central Coast and Newcastle.

Key features

• Widening of the freeway from two lanes in each direction to three lanes in each direction.
• Additional lanes built within the median area of the existing F3 Freeway.
• Upgrading of stormwater drainage.
• A road design that complements the local environment.

Benefits

• Improved road safety by removing the need to merge from three lanes to two lanes.
• Improved road safety through providing a smoother, more durable road surface and improving drainage for road water run-off.
• Improved surface life of the pavement and reduced traffic noise by treating some sections of the freeway with a diamond grinding process.