AS the debate rolls on between the NSW Government and the Nationals about whether a big dig from Little Hartley to Blackheath is feasible or an unrealistic folly, work on an existing Great Western Highway tunnel is about to begin.
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Transport for NSW says there will be changed traffic conditions inside the road tunnel on the highway at Leura during what is described as a major lighting upgrade.
Work will take up to 20 nights to complete between Sunday, July 7 and Thursday, August 1, weather permitting, and will involve lane closures and a 40-kilometre-an-hour speed limit.
Work hours will be 8pm to 5am from Sunday to Thursday, with no work on Friday and Saturday nights.
Long story short
Great Western Highway upgrades
- 1960s: Springwood bypass.
- 1980s: Glenbrook, Blaxland, Valley Heights, Katoomba.
- 1990s: Lapstone Hill, Warrimoo, Linden Bends, Woodford Bends.
- 2000s: Faulconbridge, Linden, Wentworth Falls West, Leura.
- 2010: Lawson town centre.
The tunnel, through Leura Hill, was built to separate north-south local traffic travelling on Leura Mall and east-west traffic on the Great Western Highway and was part of a decade of work on the highway that included upgrades at Faulconbridge, Linden and Wentworth Falls West.
When work was completed at Bullaburra, west of Lawson, in July 2015, the highway had been duplicated to four lanes from Penrith to Katoomba.
But what happens from Katoomba on? That has been the question.
In terms of the current work on the duplication of small sections of the highway at Medlow Bath and Little Hartley, the most recent significant step was the opening of a new bridge near the base of Mount Victoria.
The 70-metre-long, 15-metre-wide bridge will run over the realigned highway as it shifts south of the current route.
