The NSW Government has confirmed it will invest $50 million to strengthen and improve key detour routes in the Blue Mountains and Central West, as part of its response to the ongoing closure of the Great Western Highway at Victoria Pass.
The funding will support asphalting, shoulder widening and other corridor improvements along Darling Causeway, Chifley Road and Main Street in Lithgow, helping keep traffic moving as safely and reliably as possible during what is expected to be a prolonged disruption.
“This $50 million package is focused on improving the safety, resilience and reliability of the corridors now carrying significantly more traffic as a result of the closure,” said Minister for Roads, Jenny Aitchison.
“We are working every day on short-term actions while continuing to progress longer-term solutions across government and with expert engineers.
“We are moving quickly to strengthen detour routes, supporting affected communities, and continuing the engineering and planning work needed to determine the best path forward.
“We know this disruption is significant for local residents, businesses and freight operators, and we will continue working every lever available to support them.
“We will have more to say as the engineering work progresses.”
In the past fortnight, crews have patched over 6,000m2 of Chifley Road and laid more than 1,500 tonnes of asphalt on Darling Causeway. Road crews have also carried out shoulder widening and refreshed line markings to make journeys smoother and safer.
The Great Western Highway at Victoria Pass has been closed since 12 March after serious cracking and ground movement were detected at Mitchell’s Causeway.
Detailed geotechnical investigations and ongoing monitoring have confirmed the site remains unstable, making it unsafe for traffic.
Transport for NSW is continuing engineering analysis, geotechnical testing and design work to determine the safest and most effective repair pathway. The Government will have more to say as that work progresses.
Other routes to the Central West and Blue Mountains, including Bells Line of Road, the Golden Highway and Lachlan Valley Way, will continue to be monitored and maintained during the disruption, TfNSW confirmed.
Member for Blue Mountains, Trish Doyle, welcomed the funding, saying the closure was putting real pressure on communities across the Blue Mountains.
“[The works] will help strengthen the roads people are relying on right now, while the extra public transport support remains in place for local residents and visitors,” she said.
“The Blue Mountains and the Central West is absolutely open over Easter, and I encourage people to keep backing our local businesses and communities.”
For the latest information on the Great Western Highway at Victoria Pass, including detour maps, visit the dedicated website here.
