Fast forward a few decades, and there's a stretch of goat track in the middle of residential housing estates.

It's still known as Ploughmans Lane.

"Originally it was a road just on the outskirts of Orange that people like me - who live out here - use, but it's gone from being a fringe road to a major traffic route getting people north, south, east and west," Cr Kidd said.

"Rather than go up Anson Street or Sale Street or Hill Street, a lot of people coming from town will go this way, then head west."

Cr Jason Hamling thought so little of this stretch of thoroughfare that he described it to his fellow councillors as "a bit of a goat track" that needed working on.

"This is one of the connections between Cargo Road and Forbes Road and it had been deteriorating, and I got up and mentioned how bad it was," Cr Hamling said.

"We finally got some state government money to fix it up."

The $400,000 project is funded by the state government ($300,000) and Orange City Council ($100,000).

It is slated to take about four weeks, a period during which residents will have access in and out via Cargo Road.

"And then we'll have a nice, smooth finish," said Cr Hamling.

Although the all-new Ploughmans Lane won't be suitable for heavy trucks, Cr Hamling said "light trucks can use this road to get from Cargo Road onto Forbes Road and then onto the Northern Distributor, so it's a fairly important connection road".

"With all this development around the Poplars Estate to the north you'll find in the morning an incredible amount of traffic taking kids to school or other places, or going to work, and vice-versa in the afternoon," said Cr Kidd.

"It's a major road."

The only thing standing between the old goat track and the new Ploughmans Lane are the rains forecast for this week.

"There is a lot of sub-surface work that has to be done, and a proper base," said Cr Kidd.

"There's a fair bit of work on at the moment, so if we get the weather we'll have to bounce between here and probably some work at the airport or somewhere else, so it keeps the crews going.

"We've been praying for rain for three and a half years, but we just want a bit of a break so we can get this surface done before it starts."

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