THE Federal Government has announced it’s tipping $100 million into the rebuild of the Great Western Highway at Victoria Pass.
Last week’s official announcement matches a New South Wales State Government contribution of the same amount for the project.
The main route to the Central West of the state was cut off in March this year, after subsidence was discovered in a nearly 200-year-old section of the road.
“For 194 years, the Mitchell’s Causeway was the key link between the Mountains and the Central West,” said Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Catherine King.
“The cracking has cut off communities, and made travelling through the region challenging.
“The Australian Government made an early commitment that we would work closely with the NSW Government to reopen the highway as quickly and safely as possible.
“This will not be a simple repair, but getting this done is a priority. That’s why the Albanese Government is announcing $100 million in Federal funding today.”
Full works to repair the damaged section of the road, as well as add an extra climbing lane began in late June and could take up to a year to complete.
NSW Roads Minister, Jenny Aitchison, said works were progressing swiftly and welcomed the Federal Government money.
“The Minns Labor Government is working at significant pace to reopen Mitchell’s Causeway for the Central West and Blue Mountains communities,” she said.
“By delivering an additional eastbound climbing lane, we are taking the opportunity to improve the road for the long term, giving motorists the opportunity to safely overtake slower-moving vehicles and trucks.
“We are looking beyond the immediate repair and investing in our Central West and Blue Mountains communities for the future.
“This investment will address a long-standing pain point for locals and truckies, while ensuring we can get this vital road safely reopened as soon as possible.
“The Albanese Government’s $100 million contribution means we can go beyond simply rebuilding Victoria Pass. This investment will mean we can future-proof it.
“I am very pleased to be working with our Federal counterparts to make that happen.”
While Federal Calare MP Andrew Gee welcomed the announcement of Federal Government funds, he also said the money was only due to “community pressure and campaigning”.
“Make no mistake, this is a win for people power,” he said in a social media post.
“The only reason this funding has been made available is through relentless community pressure and campaigning.”
However, he also said more needed to be done when it came to supporting businesses and people affected by the road’s closure.
“The job’s not done,” he said. “Tragically, we still have local businesses closing their doors and going broke because of this ongoing debacle.
“While we welcome the news of an extra lane, the business support package announced by the New South Wales government is hopelessly inadequate.
“What we need is an ongoing business support package, like we had with JobKeeper during COVID and a long-term plan for high-speed access to Sydney.”