NSW popular freight route receives much needed new lanes

The new look and upgraded Prospect Highway in western Sydney has opened.

The $280 million upgrade, funded jointly and delivered by the Australian and NSW Governments, has transformed the highway from an undivided single lane road connection into a modern divided highway with up to six lanes.

Prospect Highway is a major roadway that connects Western Sydney motorists with the M4 Motorway, the Great Western Highway, Old Windsor Road and the M2 Motorway.

For the 35,000 vehicles and 5,000 trucks a day that use the route, the highway had become a slow-moving headache as the area’s traffic volume overtook the capacity of the road.

The 3.6-kilometre upgrade provides six lanes between St Martins Crescent and Blacktown Road and four lanes between Blacktown Road and Reservoir Road.

This has resulted in significant travel time savings with previous average travel time of 20 minutes along this section of Prospect Highway now reduced to five minutes.

Due to the increased safety of the divided, wider, smoother road, the speed limit has been raised from 60 km/hr to 70 km/hr between Reservoir Road and St Martins Crescent.

The upgrade also features:

  • Two new bridges over the M4 and Great Western Highway
  • New link road between Great Western Highway and Prospect Highway
  • Kerb-side bus lane in each direction between Lancelot Street and north of St Martins Crescent
  • Multiple upgraded and signalised intersections
  • New kiss-and-ride facility at Shelley Public School to keep children safely away from the highway
  • New pedestrian underpass
  • Upgraded 3.7km shared user path on the western side

Western Sydney is NSW’s fastest growing region and Blacktown is expected to be home to 563,350 people by 2041.

Premier of New South Wales Chris Minns described Prospect Highway as a vital north-south road in Western Sydney that for too long, was an outdated two-lane traffic bottleneck.

“This upgrade gets drivers moving again on a safer road, and less time sitting in traffic means more time at home with family and friends,” he said.

“For truck drivers, time is money. This upgrade will improve traffic flow for the thousands of trucks that use it every day and boost Western Sydney’s reputation as a place to do business and for families to live.”

Prospect Highway has been an essential arterial route since it was first developed out of local roads in the 1980s.

“Prospect Highway is a crucial connector for our community and is used by tens of thousands of motorists each and every day to access both the M2 and the M4,” said Federal Member for Greenway Michelle Rowland.

“Upgrading Prospect Highway was vital for motorists in this area but also a great improvement in safety for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists through the road and shared path improvements it delivers.

“I’m extremely pleased to have advocated for the funding and delivery of this vital upgrade and look forward to the benefits it will deliver for our community.”

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