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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald

Inner city bypass interchange bridge works set to kick off

Inner City Bypass flyover

Bridge work will start soon on the northern interchange of the new Rankin Park to Jesmond section of the Newcastle Inner City Bypass.

Construction began in March on the $450 million, 3.4 kilometre "missing link" of the bypass.

Transport for NSW region north director Anna Zycki said piling rigs arrived on site in mid-June and bridge piling work had started.

"There are six bridges being built as part of the bypass and more than 60 piles will be installed for these bridges," she said.

"Cumulatively, drill holes for the piles will be more than 1.2 kilometres deep, which is more than the Eiffel Tower stacked end to end four times.

"There'll also be 190 tonnes of reinforcement used in the piles, equating to the weight of more than 32 elephants.

"Road users will start to see work ramping up with the installation of safety barriers, line marking, and traffic signage will continue to support road realigning and adjustments."

A concept image of the northern interchange. Picture by Transport for NSW
Bypass northbound heading to Jesmond under McCaffrey Drive. Picture by Transport for NSW
An aerial view of bypass works. Picture by Transport for NSW

An archaeological salvage of shanty town "Hollywood" was recently completed as part of the bypass works.

"Our archaeologists unearthed a multitude of artefacts from the site, which was home to scores of people who became homeless during the Great Depression," Ms Zycki said.

The new bypass is expected to remove up to 30,000 vehicles each day from the existing route, while motorists travelling on the new section will avoid up to 11 sets of traffic lights.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

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