Roads and Maritime Services, Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson and Gunnedah Shire Council met on the Oxley Highway on Friday to signal the start of major works on the town's new roundabout.
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The roundabout on the corner of Boundary Road and the highway has been a long time in the planning and will be constructed in the next nine months to streamline traffic and increase safety for cars, trucks and heavy vehicles.
Boundary Road connects the highway to Bloomfield Street and is the start of the heavy vehicle route for trucks heading towards Coonabarabran. Congestion at the intersection is commonplace.
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Gunnedah shire mayor Jamie Chaffey said he was "very happy" to reach the point of construction and the roundabout was part of the "bigger plan" for the town, which incorporates the second rail-over-pass and new roundabout on New Street and the highway, and $4 million in road resurfacing on Bloomfield Street.
Cr Chaffey said "it all works in strategic direction" to ease the way for heavy mass-load vehicles heading west to east, and would improve safety for road users as the town continued to grow.
The mayor said it could also increase the capacity to accommodation larger heavy vehicles, which would reduce freight costs.
Deputy mayor Rob Hooke said it would work in well with Werris Creek's new rail freight hub and Tamworth's planned intermodal hub.
"It opens up the north west and benefits not only Gunnedah but the other joint councils in the area," Cr Hooke said.