Two new freight-friendly testing sites are opening along key freight routes in the Hunter and Southern Tablelands to further support the freight industry and keep drivers COVID-Safe.
Nationals Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Paul Toole said the new pop-up sites at Marulan on the Hume Highway and Buchanan on the Hunter Expressway would make it easier for truckies and other freight workers to get tested and help them keep essential supplies moving across NSW and interstate.
“It’s been 12 months since we opened the first freight testing sites at Tarcutta and Narrandera, and we are continuing to see significant demand across the eight sites already open,” Mr Toole said.
“So far, more than 51,000 tests have been carried out across all our testing sites – remarkably, more than half of those in the last four weeks alone.
“These testing sites have proven invaluable in helping the freight industry meet the challenges the Delta strain has presented by providing a simple and easy option for drivers to meet the testing requirements across multiple jurisdictions.
“We’re expecting this demand for our testing sites to only continue, as we’ve seen a 4900 per cent increase in our testing numbers at our Taree site and a 1750 per cent increase at our Tarcutta site since June this year.”
The Marulan site will be open from 7am Monday, August 30 at the BP Service Centre, southbound, on the Hume Highway. The Buchanan site will open on Monday, September 6 at the heavy vehicle rest area, westbound, on the Hunter Expressway. Both sites will be 24/7 pathology assisted.
The Wetherill Park freight-friendly testing site will close permanently at 4pm Friday, 3 September due to the end of Transport’s lease agreement with the landowner.
The NSW Nationals in the state government are continuing to work closely with the freight industry to investigate more options for testing sites across the state.
Existing freight testing locations:
• Ballina BP Travel Centre, 41 Bruxner Highway, off the Pacific Highway
Assisted testing by pathology staff 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
• Yass Ampol Service Centre, 1715 Yass Valley Way, off the Hume Highway
Assisted testing by pathology staff 24hours a day, 7 days a week
• Taree Service Centre, Pacific Highway. Assisted testing by pathology staff 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Narrabarba rest area, Princes Highway. From Wednesday, September 1, the existing northbound site at Narrabara rest area on the Princes Highway will be moved to the southbound rest area to better support freight workers travelling to Victoria.
• Forbes Caltex Service Centre, Newell Highway Assisted testing on weekdays, with telehealth in place at night and on weekends.
• Narrandera Roadhouse, Newell Highway. Assisted testing by pathology staff 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Tarcutta truck changeover yard, Sydney Street, off Hume Highway
Assisted testing by pathology staff 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
