Source: Newcastle Herald
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OFFICIALS have formally dedicated the Hunter Expressway ahead of its opening on Saturday.
Acting Prime Minister Warren Truss and NSW roads minister Duncan Gay attended a ceremony at the site on Friday morning.
Mr Truss said road users would save almost half an hour using the new road.
“The Hunter Expressway provides a more direct freight route from the Port of Newcastle to the regions of Central Queensland, Northern New South Wales and Central New South Wales,” Mr Truss said.
Newcastle Herald photographer Dean Osland provides a bird's eye view of the Hunter Expressway ahead of its Saturday opening.
Mr Gay said the Expressway would "return local roads to local communities".
“Traffic on the New England Highway through Maitland is forecast to halve as traffic moves onto the Expressway, with towns like Greta and Branxton seeing similar benefits," he said.
The federal government spent $1.5 billion on the Expressway, which was also built with $200 million in state funding.