The New South Wales Government is investing $50 million to strengthen and improve key detour routes in the Blue Mountains and Central West.
The funding – part of the Government’s response to the ongoing closure of the Great Western Highway at Victoria Pass – will support asphalting, shoulder widening and other corridor improvements along Darling Causeway, Chifley Road and Main Street in Lithgow.
According to Transport for NSW, the detour package will improve the resilience of the alternative routes now carrying increased traffic volumes, including more freight and more motorists unfamiliar with these mountain roads.
“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 NSW 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.”
Work is already underway.
In the past fortnight, crews have patched over 6,000 square metres of Chifley Road and laid more than 1,500 tonnes of asphalt on Darling Causeway.
The team have also carried out shoulder widening and refreshed line markings to make journeys smoother and safer.
“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,” said Aitchison.
“We know this disruption is significant for local residents, businesses and freight operators, and we will continue working every lever available to support them.”
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.
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.
In other news, the Port of Brisbane has successfully trialled five new Higher Productivity Freight Vehicle combinations on Fisherman Islands.
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