The Great Western Highway has recently undergone a makeover, with a new four-lane section now open to traffic at the foot of the Blue Mountains.
The new 2.4-kilometre alignment will deliver an improved link between Sydney and the state’s Central West, ensuring safer journeys for locals, tourists and freight operators.
“The Minns Labor Governments is proud to be working with the Albanese Labor Government to deliver improvements along the Great Western Highway corridor, including our upgrade at Medlow Bath and other targeted safety improvements,” roads minister Jenny Aitchison says.
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“This upgrade will help improve safety and cut congestion for motorists along a key regional route.
“I’d like to thank local businesses and community members for their patience as this upgrade work was carried out.
“I’d also like to thank the more than 530 workers who helped make this important project possible. They’ve done a fantastic job and I was very happy to hear 30 per cent of the workforce came from local communities.”
Funded jointly by the federal and state governments, the $232 million Coxs River Road Upgrade at Hartley has been built from locally sourced materials including concrete from Lithgow and quarry materials from Oberon.
The striking feature of the project is the 70-metre long road bridge taking local traffic safely on Coxs River Road over the new four lanes of highway traffic.
The bridge rests on 14 precast Super T girders, each one 34 metres long and weighing 60 tonnes. With the new alignment now open to traffic, crews will remain on-site for a few more months to complete shared path and landscaping along the old highway.
NSW Labor Bathurst spokesperson Stephen Lawrence MLC says the project was delivered in sometimes challenging conditions, with crews laying over 67,000 tonnes of asphalt to build a dual-lane, separated highway despite losing about 15 weeks to poor weather since construction started.
“The new highway alignment at Little Hartley is a credit to the workers who helped build it,” he says.
“Landscaping and construction of a shared path on the old highway are expected to continue for another few months while the Coxs River Road Upgrade has also delivered a realignment of the old highway to create a service road for local businesses, upgraded junctions at Browns Gap Road, Coxs River Road and Ambermere Drive, and a U-turn bay on Baaners Lane.”
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