Central NSW Councils (Centroc) chairman John Medcalf said he hoped there would be some funding to explore road options when treasurer Dominic Perrottet announces the budget for 2018-19 on Tuesday, June 19.

“It would be good if there was some more money to look into options for that Bells Line corridor,” he said.

Centroc have led renewed calls for a high-speed road, arguing Western NSW was the only region without direct access to Sydney. 

Central West motorists have had to make do with the Bells Line and Great Western Highway, both littered with speed zone changes.

That push resulted in the state government announcing it would secure the Castlereagh Corridor, a link between the Bells Line of Road at Kurrajong and the M7 Motorway.

“The submissions for the Castlereagh Corridor close on June 1 so we expect to hear more from [NSW Roads Minister] Melinda Pavey after that,” he said.

“The minister promised to form a taskforce to work on the corridor and the costings. We thought that might have happened by now but I am still confident it will happen.

“In the meantime the NSW Farmers and some private organisations have been doing some advocating [for improved roads] and we have had meetings with them.”

Mr Medcalf said an expressway to Sydney remained one of the highest priorities for Centroc and he was still confident the state government would give it due consideration.

A change in the planned route for the Castlereagh Corridor has caused problems in recent weeks.

When the government announced the corridor in March, it moved away from a land tract that was reserved in 1951, to a new path that would involve the compulsory acquisition of hundreds of houses.

However backlash from residents in the affected area has led to speculation the government would return to the original 1950s route.