Roadworks to upgrade the troublesome intersection with Clifton Grove are set to begin on Tuesday, weather permitting, with $700,000 of state government funding allocated to the project.

Under the plan, Banjo Paterson Way's T-intersection with Ophir Road will be moved slightly west and widened to improve the visibility for traffic turning left from Clifton Grove and traffic heading into town along Ophir Road.

The camber of the road will also be improved and barriers added.

Orange mayor Jason Hamling was joined by NSW minister for regional roads Sam Farraway, Member for Orange Phil Donato and NSW Transport Director West Alistair Lunn to turn the first sod for the project which is expected to take about six weeks to complete.

The project will cover almost 900 metes of the road and will be done in two stages, the first stage of which is north of the intersection to the second crossing.

Cr Hamling said he believes seven minutes extra for the trip into town for six weeks was a small inconvenience for the upgrade.

"This is all about safety. This road has had some incidents happen so it's fantastic the state government has come to the party.

"It's fully-funded by the state government, Orange City Council is putting no money into it so it's a positive thing for roads."

Cr Hamling said contractors will do their best to minimise the impact on Ophir Road and Clifton Grove residents with some work to be carried out at night.

Cullya Road will be used as the detour for Ophir Road residents and school buses.

"It's all about safety so if we allow seven to ten minutes on our trip to fix up this stretch of road and that corner, then I think it's a win win."

The project has had funding allocated under the State Government's Safer Roads program with Mr Farraway saying it was one of 500 similar projects across NSW.

"This project was identified a little while ago under the program. It' about identifying safety upgrades on our roads and this one has met the criteria.

"This is an important road around connectivity for people who life in Clifton Grove and on Ophir Road, There are hundreds of people I suspect use this piece of road infrastructure every day."

Mr Lunn said unfortunately, the NSW road toll remains "stubbornly" high.

"And it's locals that are dying on local roads, narrow stretches of road like this which are getting increasingly busy with the growth of Orange," he said.

"Council put forward this project. It's part of what we call our safe-systems approach so if you have an accident it should not be a fatal or a very serious accident.

"We'll have barriers, a better camber on the road, so it's easier to get around the corner at speed as well."

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