In 2016 then councillor and now deputy mayor Glenn Taylor complained about hoons on William Maker Drive - a main thoroughfare off Northern Distributor Road that runs through new housing developments - clocking up speeds of over 120 km/h.
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Two years later residents expressed concern that motorists - sat waiting for up to seven minutes in peak hour to turn from William Maker Drive onto Northern Distributor Road - were taking huge risks by trying to dart between gaps in traffic.
In 2019 Orange City Council awarded a tender to construct a new $5 million roundabout that would span William Maker Drive, Northern Distributor Road and a realigned Hill Street.
Work began in February 2020 and late in 2020 the section linking William Maker Drive to the distributor was opened.
On Monday, Nationals leader and deputy premier John Barilaro came to town to inspect the roundabout, which is fully operational and with only marking lines to be added.
Mr Barilaro was joined by Nationals MLC Sam Farraway, state MP Phil Donato, mayor Reg Kidd and former MLC Rick Colless.
The NSW government tipped about $2.3 million into the more than $5 million project as part of the Resources for Regions program.
"As Nationals we fought for the Resources for Regions program, for communities that are part of the mining economy in NSW," Mr Barilaro said.
"[With] all those royalties going back into government coffers, we wanted to make sure we could see those communities benefiting from mining - not just direct employment and investment from the private sector, but investment in amenities."
Mr Barilaro, who was filling in for premier Gladys Berijiklian recently, cracked wise about how he couldn't wait to skip Sydney after handing back the reins to Ms Berejiklian on Saturday.
Cr Kidd noted the chronic traffic issues before the roundabout was built, and said Northern Distributor Road was now handling some 10,000 vehicles a day.
Mr Farraway said the roundabout would "provide a safe way for locals and tourists to travel between north Orange and the CBD and improve traffic flow".
He said that "many local residents have been asking for this roundabout for some time".
Mr Donato described the roundabout as a "great piece of infrastructure".
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