BY DAKOTA TAIT
The Federal Government has committed $268.8 million to build the Muswellbrook bypass on the New England Highway.
It's hoped the bypass will be a major speed boost for freight travelling through the Hunter.
It's estimated, between 11,000 to 20,000 vehicles pass through Muswellbrook every day, around 13 percent of which are heavy vehicles.
The project is expected to support 720 jobs directly and another 1,090 indirectly.
The investment is part of a new Energy Security and Regional Development plan put forward by the Commonwealth.
The NSW Government is set to contribute just over $67 million for the project, to split funding 80 to 20.
Construction is expected to begin in early 2023 and be completed by late 2027.
