Design work kicks off to flood-proof the Newell Highway, south of Forbes

Preliminary environmental investigations are complete, says Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Paul Toole, and focus has shifted to the strategic and concept design stage of the project.

"The flood-prone Newell Highway between West Wyalong and Forbes has a history of road closures during periods of heavy rain and flooding in the Lachlan catchment," Mr Toole said.

The highway was closed for 43 days in 2016, cutting access to local communities and freight operators that rely on the stretch to get goods to market.

"The NSW Government plans to improve the highway's flood immunity between Compton Road in West Wyalong and Hereford Street in Forbes by achieving one lane open under traffic control in a flood event similar to the 2016 floods.

"The project will also aim to achieve a minimum flood immunity for a 1-in-20 year flood event, and assess options for flood immunity for up to a 1-in-50 year flood event."

Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke said work is expected to be delivered in sections, improving up to 20 kilometres of the 110-kilometre stretch between the two towns.

"The goal is to provide increased flood immunity along the Newell Highway to prevent any further closures from happening again, but we also want to make sure we don't worsen future flood impacts for adjacent properties.

"I thank the community for their patience as we work through incredibly complex flood modelling and consult property owners and businesses to ensure that the strategic design improve the flood resilience of the road without shifting the impacts elsewhere."

Member of the Legislative Council Sam Farraway said environmental specialists were engaged at the end of last year to carry out the preliminary environmental investigation.

"Work to review existing flood studies and preliminary identification of flora and fauna species along the length of the project has now been completed," Mr Farraway said.

"The next stage of design will include field and data collection, flood modelling and analysis, road design, estimating, further environmental assessment and extensive consultation with nearby landholders and key stakeholders."

Over the next three months, consultation will continue with local residents, especially during the development of the flood model, to collect flood data.

The strategic and concept design stage also includes option selection, road design estimating, environmental assessment and further consultation.

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