Workers have lifted into place the first concrete girders for a bridge spanning Ironbark Creek as part of the Hexham straight road widening project.
The southbound side of the new 84-metre bridge will take two lanes of traffic in each direction while the contractor builds the northbound side.
When finished, the bridge will accommodate three lanes of traffic in each direction.
The road widening is part of the $2.24 billion state and federal investment in extending the M1 Motorway from Black Hill to Raymond Terrace, a project which has grown in cost by $140 million since it was announced.
The heavily congested Hexham section of the Pacific Highway will expand to six lanes when the straight widening work is completed in 2026.
Federal Minister for Infrastructure Catherine King said on Friday that the Hexham road widening and M1 extension would "significantly improve the way motorists travel to, from and through Newcastle".
Paterson MP Meryl Swanson said the road works would "free up a major choke point in our region".
The six kilometre-long Hexham straight work is designed to improve traffic flow, deliver more reliable travel times for freight and increase safety for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.
Transport for NSW has engaged contractors Georgiou, Daracon and SMEC to design and build the project.
The NSW Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison, said early this month that the motorway extension was on track to be finished in 2028.
