Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Albanese government is committed to delivering major infrastructure projects that actually deliver results. I couldn't be prouder to be standing here this evening as the member for Patterson while a major piece of infrastructure is being delivered in my electorate. To be fair, the initial planning for this major piece of infrastructure began 20 years ago, in 2004. It started with investigation, planning and ongoing community engagement. But we in the Hunter knew that we had to capitalise on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve access and, importantly, productivity for my community, for the broader Hunter region and, quite frankly, for the eastern seaboard of Australia. This is a game changer not only for the people of the Hunter but for all of those people who require the goods and services that travel up and down our major freeway, the M1.

A partnership has been developed between the state and federal governments, with a total commitment of $2.2 billion being invested into the M1 in Paterson. Extension of the M1 Pacific Motorway will create 15 kilometres of motorway, with two lanes in each direction, bypassing Hexham and Heatherbrae, along with interchanges at Black Hill, Tomago, Tarro and Raymond Terrace. There will be a 2.6-kilometre viaduct bridge across the mighty and beautiful Hunter River, the floodplain, the main north rail line and the New England Highway.

As you drive in that part of the world at the moment, you can't help but see that construction taking place right now. It is going to employ right now in the construction phase 2,700 people in a good road-building jobs. I want to give the nod of approval to those people constructing the road at the moment. The job site is incredible. Every night, all of the heavy machinery is lined up. It looks clean. It is really a sight to behold, even in construction. I know that, at the moment, there are a lot of delays around this part of the world. They are the sorts of delays that road construction brings. I know there's so much road construction going on across our beautiful region that it has caused havoc. I say to people that I am sorry about those delays, but I am not sorry that we are building something that is going to make a massive difference to our region. It is such a game changer. I know that, once all of this construction is finally finished and we're driving on this beautiful new road and this beautiful new bridge with all the great infrastructure, we're just going to be so pleased we have been through the pain of this construction.

It is also going to create a further 700 jobs during construction for the additional part of the road, the Hexham Straight. I'm really delighted to be attending with my friend and parliamentary neighbour the member for Newcastle next week with one of the major girders going in, in a construction milestone. Construction on the extension is already underway. It commenced last year. Early project development includes vegetation clearing, controlling erosion and sediment, construction of embankment foundation and bridge piling. Weather permitting, the project is expected to be completed in 2028. I know that seems like a long time away, but, if you just think back, it wasn't so long ago we were locked down due to COVID. That time has gone by reasonably quickly, and I'm hoping the next few years will go by just as quickly so that we'll be on that M1 extension.

There will be improved traffic flow. It's going to create more reliable traffic times, reducing them by seven to nine minutes, and it's going to create really great connections for the connecting roads around it. Upon completion of the project, 25,000 vehicles a day will be redirected from key congestion points on the corridor, keeping commuters moving. Overall, there will be a 25 per cent reduction in the flow on the New England Highway and west of Hexham. It's been a long time coming, but we are delivering. The Albanese Labor government are delivering this motorway, and it's going to make a change not only for the travellers of our generation but for those to come.

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