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NSW Government. Transport. Roads & Maritime Services	Road Projects

Hunter region

Improving traffic flow through the roundabouts on the New England Highway at Maitland

Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) is planning upgrades to achieve safety and traffic flow improvements at the roundabouts on the New England Highway at Maitland.

Background

The NSW Government through the Hunter Infrastructure and Investment Fund has provided $45 million for upgrades to the two five leg Maitland roundabouts at Church Street (near Maitland Railway station) and High Street (near Maitland Hospital).

In March 2012 RMS presented proposals for the two roundabouts to the community for comment. A total of 52 submissions were received along with feedback from meetings with local businesses and land owners.

Since the consultation in March 2012 RMS has undertaken investigations for a range of options for each roundabout including traffic counts and traffic projections, traffic modelling, survey, sketching of options, flood studies and cost estimates and announced a favoured option for the Railway Station Roundabout in August 2012.

Project objectives

The main objective of this project is to provide upgrades at the Railway and Hospital roundabouts to improve safety and cater for future traffic growth.

The $45 million funding provided by Hunter Infrastructure and Investment Fund has been provided specifically for improvements associated with the Hospital and Railway Station Roundabouts.

The focus of the planning for this project is on identifying options for the two roundabouts which maximise safety and traffic efficiency benefits within the funding allocated. The $45 million provided covers both the Railway Station and Hospital Roundabouts.

The upgrades must be designed to not significantly impact on flooding in the area.

Recent initial safety improvements include:

Removing vegetation on the Hospital roundabout.
Installing roadside safety barriers.
Installing improved safety signs for motorists.
Resurfacing of the westbound exit at Church Street roundabout.

For more information on Hospital roundabout, Railway Station roundabout and changes to Walker Street access, view or download the August 2012 community update (PDF, 1.36MB).

The majority of the $45M will be allocated to the Railway Station Roundabout which is a higher priority intersection for the following reasons:

The Railway Station Roundabout has more consistent and extensive queues and delays than the Hospital Roundabout.
The Railway Station Roundabout serves a higher order function as the intersection of two State roads (New England Highway and Cessnock Road) and will provide a crucial link to the Hunter Expressway from 2013 onwards.
The Railway Station Roundabout experiences many conflicting turning movements during peak periods, which leads to delays on the highway. The Hospital Roundabout is dominated by through traffic on the New England Highway, which is expected to be significantly reduced when the Hunter Expressway is completed at the end of this year.

Hospital Roundabout

The favoured option for the Hospital Roundabout involves improvements to the existing roundabout and new traffic lights at the Johnson Street and New England Highway intersection.

In February 2012 RMS released two proposals for the Hospital Roundabout for public comment. The two options presented were a 4 leg roundabout and 4 leg traffic lights. Both options involved consolidation of Johnson Street and Bungaree Street legs, to reduce the complexity of the roundabout and improve safety. A meeting was also held in March 2012 with local residents and businesses to discuss these proposals.

Following an assessment of the public feedback for the Hospital Roundabout, RMS has developed a favoured option to improve safety and traffic flow at the Hospital Roundabout. The favoured option involves the following:

Installation of traffic signals at Johnson Street (northern end). These signals would be linked to the existing traffic signals at John Street traffic signals and would effectively operate as one set of signals. The signals would provide an alternative and safer exit onto the New England Highway for Johnson Street traffic, especially during traffic peaks.
Removal of existing pedestrian mid block signals between John Street and the roundabout. Pedestrians will be able to cross at the Johnson Street signals approximately 60 metres away.
Construction of a left turn slip lane for traffic travelling eastbound into High Street. This will separate left turning vehicles from the through traffic on the highway, and assist traffic entering onto the roundabout from High Street in identifying gaps in oncoming traffic.
Construction of a left turn slip lane for traffic travelling westbound into Bungaree Street. This will separate left turning vehicles from the through traffic on the highway, and assist entering onto the roundabout from Bungaree Street in identifying gaps in oncoming traffic.

Railway Station Roundabout

A favoured option for the Railway Station Roundabout was distributed for public comment in August / September 2012. Following a review of submissions, RMS is finalising a preferred option for the Railway Station roundabout, which is expected to be released in April 2013.