“The NSW Government allocated $5.8 million from the Hunter Infrastructure and Investment Fund to upgrade Broke Road west,” The Nationals Duty MLC for Cessnock, Trevor Khan said when making the announcement on Monday.

Work includes rebuilding and widening a 3.5 kilometre section of Broke Road from 500 metres east of Ekerts Road to around one kilometre east of Hermitage Road.

“Broke Road is an important road link in the Pokolbin Vineyard area. The upgraded road aims to improve road safety and provide a smoother road surface for motorists, resulting in reduced ongoing maintenance costs,” Mr. Khan said.

The roadworks will be carried out by Cessnock City Council on behalf of Roads and Maritime Services (RMS), Monday to Friday from 6.30am to 6pm.

Traffic will be reduced to one lane and a 40km/h speed limit will apply.

“This is the second project to be delivered as part of the new $20 million package of work and confirms the NSW Government’s commitment to maintaining important roads in the Cessnock electorate,” Mr. Khan said.

The first stage to be delivered was the Broke Road East project which was completed in October 2012.

Work involved improvements to a 700 metre section of road from 400 metres west of Wine Country Drive.

Planning work is progressing for the next stage, which includes safety improvements at the intersection of Broke and McDonalds roads. Work is expected to start later this year.