A $3 million safety upgrade for the Mitchell Highway at Kinghorn Road, Neurea, was announced on Wednesday as part of a $46 million program to improve safety on high-risk regional roads across NSW.

The Kinghorn Road project is one of 14 new projects funded under the state’s Towards Zero Safer Roads Program, launched in 2023 to reduce crashes and save lives on regional and rural roads.

Works planned for the Mitchell Highway include installation of roadside barriers, audio tactile line marking, shoulder widening, road sealing and enhanced line marking.

Minister for Regional NSW and Minister for Western NSW, Tara Moriarty, said the Dubbo region project is part of a broader push to improve safety on country roads.

“The upgrades to the Mitchell Highway in the Dubbo region, Kamilaroi Highway in the Liverpool Plains, Olympic Highway in Hilltops and Newell Highway in the Moree Plains will boost safety for local communities,” she said.

“This is a win for the safety of country roads used by locals heading to town or trucks freighting crops, livestock and produce to market and the supplies back to farms”

The announcement coincides with Rural Road Safety Month, led by the Australian Road Safety Foundation, which highlights that while one-third of NSW residents live in regional areas, more than two-thirds of road fatalities occur on country roads

The Dubbo Regional Council area is among the major beneficiaries of the latest funding round, which also targets key highways in Armidale, Kyogle, Moree, Walcha, Liverpool Plains, Hilltops, Junee, and the Clarence and Richmond Valleys. Upgrades across the state include shoulder widening, new safety barriers, widening of centre lines, audio tactile markings and other measures to improve infrastructure and reduce road trauma.