Work on the M1 motorway twin service centres in Lake Macquarie is generating hundreds of jobs for Newcastle and Central Coast tradespeople.
Motorists, though, must now slow down when passing the sites under new traffic conditions expected to be in effect for the next seven weeks.
Fuel and convenience chain OTR is building the $50 million service centres at Cooranbong, which will include 24-hour petrol stations as well as McDonald's, Hungry Jack's, KFC, and Taco Bell food outlets.
The major roadside infrastructure development is designed to support growing traffic volumes along one of the state's key transport corridors.
Robson Civil Projects, based at Somersby on the Central Coast, directly employs about 35 people on the project. They include project managers, engineers, surveyors, safety and environmental specialists, site supervisors, operators, truck drivers and construction workers.
"The project is generating significant employment opportunities throughout the construction phase, with more than 100 workers regularly on site across both developments during the civil works alone," Robson Civil Projects' Hunter Valley division manager Michael Hanson said.
"We also envisage there will be around 100 building contractors working on site.
"A large network of subcontractors and suppliers is also supporting delivery of the works, mostly from Newcastle or Central Coast-based companies."
It has been "one of Robson Civil's larger projects" to date, Mr Hanson said.
A temporary 110-space car park, which will ultimately become truck parking, has been constructed. As the project progresses into the building phase, three separate building contractors will construct four quick-service restaurant (QSR) buildings, with workforce numbers expected to increase substantially.
At peak construction, more than 100 building tradespeople are expected to be working on each side of the development.
Importantly, reduced speed limits due to scheduled M1 tie-in works have just been introduced and are expected to be in place until September.
"These works are high-risk and require temporary changes to traffic conditions, including reduced lane widths and the implementation of a 60kmh speed zone to ensure the safety of workers and motorists," Mr Hanson said.
"These works have been carefully planned to have an expedited program to minimise inconvenience to commuters for as short a time frame as possible through optimised staging, increased resources, incorporating a continuous concrete pour methodology, and utilising night works.
"Tie-in works have been purposely scheduled for after the school holidays so as not to impact on holiday commuters and are expected to have a seven-week duration."
Robson Civil has already delivered a significant portion of the civil infrastructure works across both sites, however, there is still a "considerable amount of work to be completed across both the northbound and southbound sites".
Lake Macquarie City Council granted the final approval for the service centres in April 2023.
The initial proposal was lodged in June 2015 and valued at $33 million.
Work began on the sites in October 2025.
McDonald's closed its restaurants at the Wyong twin service centres in 2024, citing plans to move to the Cooranbong service centres.
