newy.com.au – Hunter residents will be given a rare opportunity to walk on the new M1 Pacific Motorway extension and across its Hunter River viaduct during a community open day on Sunday 16 August.
The event will run from 10am to 4pm, giving visitors access to the motorway before it begins carrying traffic. Free family activities will be held throughout the day, while members of the project team will be available to discuss the construction and explain how the new road will operate.
Entry is free, but registration is essential and places are limited. Visitors will be transported to the motorway by free shuttle buses departing from Beresfield Swimming Centre.
The motorway will not open to vehicles on 16 August. An exact traffic opening date has not been announced, although the full extension is expected to open in late 2026, more than a year earlier than its previous 2028 completion date.
The 15-kilometre extension will connect the existing M1 at Black Hill with the Pacific Highway at Raymond Terrace, bypassing the existing route through Hexham and Heatherbrae. It includes two lanes in each direction, four new interchanges and a 2.6-kilometre viaduct crossing the New England Highway, Main North railway line, Hunter River and surrounding floodplain.
Five kilometres of motorway forming the Heatherbrae Bypass have already been completed, along with the Raymond Terrace interchange, Masonite Road overpass and a bridge across Windeyers Creek. That section will open when the remaining 10-kilometre southern section between Black Hill and Tomago is finished.
The M1 extension and associated Hexham Straight widening represent a combined $2.24 billion investment by the Australian and NSW governments. Once operational, the extension is expected to bypass five sets of traffic lights, remove up to 25,000 vehicles a day from existing congestion points and reduce peak travel times by as much as nine minutes.
Registrations for the community open day can be made through the Transport for NSW M1 Pacific Motorway extension to Raymond Terrace project page.
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/m1-pacific-motorway-extension-to-raymond-terrace-community-open-day-tickets-1994633959868
