THERE’S good news for motorists from Orange and across the Central West with the major upgrades to the Great Western Highway on track to finish by halfway through next year.
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The $85 million upgrade at Kelso is progressing well, with construction of the Boyd Creek bridge nearing the midway point.
Work began at the bridge in May to duplicate it from two lanes to four, seeing two abutments formed at either side of the creek.
The latest efforts of Burton Contractors saw a crane brought in to lift 24 girders weighing 17 tonnes each into place to form the bridge deck.
These will be secured so the concrete deck and asphalt road surface can be laid.
A spokesperson for Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) said everything is on track for the bridge to be completed by October.
“The bridge is expected to be completed by October this year and will carry an additional two lanes of traffic, improving traffic flow through Bathurst,” they said.
The next major step for the upgrade, planned for August, is to switch all traffic onto the eastbound lanes so further work can be undertaken on the westbound lanes.
Member for Bathurst Paul Toole has followed the progress of the upgrade to the highway since it started in October, 2014.
He said he was pleased to see the necessary changes being implemented to improve traffic flow into Bathurst and praised Burton Contractors for its efforts to minimise disruption to motorists.
“This is a major infrastructure project and one where we are seeing a lot of changes to existing infrastructure,” Mr Toole said.
When asked whether the recent rainfall would push back the scheduled completion date, Mr Toole said he was confident any time lost would be made up in the coming weeks.
“Rain in the last week has slowed work down, but the guys are committed and have been working long hours,” he said.
The upgrades to the notorious go-slow area, which are expected to be completed by mid-2017, will shave a significant amount of time from the trip to Sydney for Central West motorists.
It covers a 2.4 kilometre section of the highway at Kelso and aims to improve road safety by providing two lanes in each direction, upgrading intersections and drainage and providing pedestrian and cyclist facilities.
