WHILE last week’s announcement of Commonwealth money for the Great Western Highway has been welcomed by some, a grouping of local councils have said the need to improve the road goes beyond its current closure.
Speaking after the Federal Government’s announcement of $100 million for a new up-track lane at Victoria Pass, Cabonne Council Mayor and chair of the Central NSW Joint Organisation Cr Kevin Beatty said more should be done to maintain and improve the Great Western Highway.
“Let’s be clear,” he said. “A major infrastructure failure should not be the trigger for serious investment in one of the state’s most important east-west connections.
“The Commonwealth’s contribution means the project will go beyond restoring the existing road.
“The additional eastbound climbing lane is a practical and important improvement that will make this section safer and more resilient.
“We acknowledge both governments for working together to restore this critical connection and deliver a better long-term outcome at Victoria Pass.”
Cr Beatty said with limited routes across the Blue Mountains, a failure to maintain them adequately was a crisis waiting to happen.
“Victoria Pass showed exactly what happens when a critical connection fails. Communities, freight operators, businesses and travellers all feel the impact,” he said.
“Fixing and improving Victoria Pass is essential, but it is not the same as fixing the corridor.
“Regional communities are not asking governments to start from scratch. Decades of studies, assessments and corridor planning have already been completed. The challenges are not new; they are well understood.”
With the Great Western Highway in the spotlight, Cr Beatty said now was a perfect time to start the debate about overall improvement links to the Central West and beyond.
“This isn’t just a road issue. The Blue Mountains corridor is both a road and rail challenge,” he said.
“Governments continue to say more freight should move by rail, yet key rail constraints remain unresolved.
At the same time, uncertainty around Inland Rail north of Parkes limits opportunities to reduce pressure on already constrained east-west connections.
“We are not advocating for a particular solution. What we are asking for is a genuine commitment to progressing a long-term answer for a corridor governments have long acknowledged is constrained, vulnerable and critical to the movement of people and freight.
“Fixing Victoria Pass is not the same as fixing the corridor. The NSW and Commonwealth Governments must now bring the same urgency, ambition and long-term thinking to the broader Sydney to Central West connection.
“The communities of the Central West and Blue Mountains should not have to wait for another major infrastructure failure before the broader problem is addressed.”