WITH the deadline looming, the multi-million-dollar upgrade of the Great Western Highway on Bathurst's doorstep remains on track to be completed this month.
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Kicking off three years ago, the widening of the highway from Kelso to Raglan has faced plenty of hurdles, including work days repeatedly lost to wet weather during the La Nina years and contractor problems caused by COVID-19.
Transport for NSW has been adamant for some time that the project would be finished by the end of 2023 and the government body confirmed in recent days that nothing had changed - with one small caveat.
"The Great Western Highway upgrade from Kelso to Raglan remains on track for completion by Christmas, weather permitting," a Transport for NSW spokesperson said.
"Line marking is underway this week [during the past week], and traffic light installation at the intersection of the Great Western Highway and PJ Moodie Memorial Drive will take place in coming weeks.
"Traffic control will remain in place until all associated works including traffic light installation have been completed."
The opening of the highway upgrade - featuring two lanes in both directions from Ashworth Drive to Napoleon Street, and two lanes eastbound and one lane westbound from Napoleon Street to the east of Ceramic Avenue - will come four-and-a-half years after the concept design for the project was revealed at a media conference at Raglan.
At that stage, major construction was meant to start early in the next year.
As it turned out, difficulties with property acquisitions delayed those major works, leading Member for Bathurst Paul Toole to admit in late 2020 that the process had been "a bit slow".
Serious work ended up getting started in early 2021.
The opening of the widened highway from Kelso to Raglan, meanwhile, will come almost seven years after the duplication of the road through Kelso was completed.
Further down the Great Western Highway, a small section near Little Hartley is being turned into two lanes both ways as part of the now-aborted overall duplication of the highway from Lithgow to Katoomba.
