newy.com.au – Fixed speed cameras on Maitland Road at Sandgate are operating again after being removed during the widening of Hexham Straight.
Newcastle State MP Tim Crakanthorp said the northbound camera had returned to its previous location, while the southbound camera had been installed about 70 metres further north to suit the upgraded road alignment.
Their reinstatement follows the completion of the $290 million Hexham Straight project, which widened about six kilometres of Maitland Road between Sandgate and Hexham from two lanes to three in each direction.
The corridor is used by about 50,000 vehicles a day and is a key route for commuters and freight travelling between Newcastle, Maitland, Port Stephens and the Pacific and New England highways.
Before the upgrade, traffic was forced through a four-lane bottleneck between the Newcastle Inner City Bypass at Sandgate and Hexham. The additional lane in each direction has increased capacity, reduced pressure at merging points and allowed traffic to move more freely during busy periods.
That extra capacity will become more important when the final section of the Newcastle Inner City Bypass opens between Rankin Park and Jesmond.
The 3.4-kilometre project will fill the last gap in the approximately 15-kilometre bypass between Bennetts Green and Sandgate. It is designed to move through traffic away from busy suburban routes including Lookout Road, Croudace Street and Newcastle Road.
Once the missing link is open, motorists will be able to follow a continuous bypass from Bennetts Green through New Lambton Heights, John Hunter Hospital, Jesmond, Shortland and Sandgate. Northbound traffic continuing towards Maitland, Port Stephens or the highways will then feed onto Maitland Road at the southern end of Hexham Straight.
While the new bypass is expected to reduce congestion on surrounding local roads, it will concentrate more through traffic on the Sandgate connection. Widening Hexham Straight to six lanes provides additional room for that traffic and reduces the risk of the former bottleneck simply shifting north.
