Raymond Terrace Road and Government Road intersection upgrade

Overnight on Thursday 6 February 2025, the new traffic lights at the intersection of Government Road and Raymond Terrace Road, Thornton were officially switched on. 

The intersection is now open to traffic, providing a much safer journey for residents and motorists.

This project has come with various challenges and setbacks which impacted the overall delivery timeframe, including 123 days of inclement weather, a delay of 52 days due to unexpected foundation treatments and issues with subcontractor and material availability, and a further 28 day delay due to the discovery of buried utilities and underground services on site. 

We're pleased to say work is now coming to an end with site clean up and minor works to continue for a few weeks. 

Final works are underway on the Raymond Terrace Road and Government Road intersection at Thornton. 

From Tuesday 28 January 2025, new pavement marking will take place around the intersection from 7pm across three nights, weather permitting. 

Once complete, the new traffic signals will be switched on and the intersection will open. 

Minor works will then continue for a few weeks, including some brief traffic lane closures and site clean-up before the project is officially completed. 

Recent wet weather has impacted the delivery of final works on the Government Road and Raymond Terrace Road intersection upgrade at Thornton.

Last month’s intermittent rain caused delays in the delivery and placement of pavement materials, which has had flow-on effects for our construction program.

We apologise for the inconvenience, and we'd like to thank the community for your patience.

We are working hard to deliver the project by February 2025, weather and ground conditions permitting.

Work is advancing at the intersection of Raymond Terrace Road and Government Road in Thornton, necessitating a traffic switch between 7.00pm Thursday 20 June and 5.00am Friday 21 June 2024, weather permitting.

This switch will introduce a new T-junction, allowing traffic travelling northbound on Government Road to turn both left and right onto Raymond Terrace Road, where eastbound and westbound traffic will travel along a new stretch of road as outlined on the map below.

While the barriers are moved and line marking is being installed, there will be traffic control and lighting in place. Avoiding the area where possible will help limit traffic while the traffic lanes are adjusted on Thursday night.

A traffic switch is set to occur at the Raymond Terrace Road and Government Road intersection in Thornton between 7.00pm Thursday 30 May and 5.00am Friday 31 May 2024, weather permitting. 

This switch, which has been brought forward from Friday night due to forecast rain, will involve moving eastbound traffic onto the new road while westbound traffic will continue to use the existing road.

This arrangement will be in place for approximately six weeks to allow work on the intersection to progress.

Work on the Raymond Terrace Road and Government Road intersection upgrade has been delayed due to supply chain issues and ongoing wet weather. 

The current high demand from several major infrastructure projects across the Hunter has caused interruptions to the supply of road gravel from local quarries, while ongoing weather events have also impacted progress. 

This means the completion of the intersection upgrade is now expected by the end of 2024, a delay of a few months. 

We thank residents and commuters for their patience during this time. 

Please find more information here.

The project has now passed a major milestone, with the completion of the main stormwater drain on Raymond Terrace Road.

Crews have finished installing a 700 metre drainage line along the northern side of the road, while the installation of stormwater drainage along Government Road is also nearing completion.

The focus is now shifting towards the construction of the intersection's northern leg.

This new road will create a four way intersection allowing traffic to flow through the area more easily, and it's expected to open early next year.

The project is on track for completion in the third quarter of 2024.

As this project is progressing, the focus is now shifting to work on the Government Road approach to the intersection.  

This will result in some important changes to traffic on Government Road. From Monday June 26 2023, the southbound lane of Government Road will be closed between Raymond Terrace Road and Thorncliffe Avenue. This closure will remain in place for approximately 9 months. 

During this period, vehicles will not be able to turn onto Government Road from Raymond Terrace Road. A detour will be in place via Haussman Drive. Vehicles will still be able to travel northbound on Government Road and turn onto Raymond Terrace Road. See illustrative map below. 

These measures will ensure construction progresses safely and efficiently whilst maintaining traffic flow and minimising wait times on Raymond Terrace Road. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time.

Bringing the $26 million project to life means that approximately 110 trees will be cleared around the site starting this week.

We've heard how important the environment is to the community, so the good news is that Council has committed to planting a minimum of 110 trees on land soon to be dedicated to Council in Thornton.

Protecting local wildlife is important, and we're working with an ecologist to undertake a preclearing survey. If we encounter any unexpected fauna, work will stop while the ecologist is consulted and only resume once we've received the okay.

We undertook a Review of Environmental Factors (REF) through the design phase of this project. The REF limits the number of trees to be cleared within the footprint of the works.

Where possible, we've earmarked trees to be retained and won't be clearing any trees unnecessarily.

Work is underway on long sought road upgrades at the intersection of Raymond Terrace Road and Government Road in Thornton

A $26 million project, the upgrades include a four way intersection to replace the current three way intersection. Traffic lights will be built, with both roads widened to allow for two through lanes in each direction and right turn bays.

Construction of the new intersection leg will cater for future development to the north and would be linked to the existing road network in coming years. Improved street lighting and accessibility to buses in the area will significantly and positively impact traffic flow and commuter safety.

On Wednesday, Mayor Philip Penfold joined representatives from Council and Transport for NSW to turn the first sod on the job and help get work underway. Mayor Penfold called the project a win for the people of Maitland and was looking forward to the widespread benefits of the works.

‘The residents of Thornton and Chisholm have been calling for these works for several years so it’s something of a relief for them to see these upgrades finally get underway,’ Mayor Penfold said.

Read the full media release here.

It's been confirmed that the project to upgrade the intersection of Government Road and Raymond Terrace Road in Thornton has received almost $10 million of NSW Government funding.

A big win for the residents of Maitland, this key project in the Thornton Road Network plan will see Maitland City Council construct a four way intersection and traffic lights which will significantly improve traffic flow along the busy stretch.

The bulk of the funding for the project comes from the $9.5 million worth of funding secured from the NSW Government’s Housing Acceleration Fund.

In addition, funds collected from the Thornton North Urban Release Area developer contributions and Council’s capital works program will be used to deliver the upgrades.