The RTA has now identified five corridors in which route options could be located for an upgrade of the Great Western Highway between Mt Victoria and Lithgow.
The deviation sponsored by the Federal Government is intended to bypass both Victoria Pass and River Lett Hill and has attracted a good deal of controversy, particularly in the Hartley Valley.
An RTA spokesperson said one of the corridors is to the north of the Hartley Valley along the Darling Causeway and through the Newnes Plateau.
A second corridor with potential route options is from the Darling Causeway north towards the River Lett north of Hartley Vale and through to the northern end of Blackmans Creek Road.
The third corridor has been identified from the Darling Causeway down to the valley floor near Hartley Vale and Hartley Vale Road across to the northern end of Blackmans Creek Road.
A fourth corridor is to the north of Little Hartley through the area where Browns Gap Road meets Mid Hartley Road through to the northern end of Blackmans Creek Road.
The final corridor is generally along the existing route of the Great Western Highway.
The spokesman said the last four potential corridors go through the area known as Forty Bends near Lithgow to the intersection of the existing highway and McKanes Falls Road.
The five corridors with potential route options are on display for community comment until Monday December22.
“The corridors were identified after consultation with the community, businesses, agencies, local aboriginal representatives and other stakeholders,” he said.
“The project team also investigated environmental conditions, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal heritage, bio-diversity, socio-economic and urban design considerations.”
The spokesman said a significant challenge to identifying corridors was the topography of the study area.
“There are also a number of State heritage listed locations within the study area, including historic buildings, walking routes and conservation areas, as well as a number of endangered ecological communities and threatened species,” hesaid.
“Land in the corridors is not necessarily earmarked for acquisition and the RTA will continue to talk to property owners to keep them informed.
“The corridor options have been identified for community consideration and further studies are needed to determine if route options can be located within these corridors.
“Several meetings are proposed for landowners to discuss the corridor options directly with the RTA study team,” the spokesman said.
The reviews of the Hartley Valley and Newnes Plateau options were conducted separately by different consultants. The RTA said there is only one possibility under review for the Newnes corridor from Marrangaroo to Bell.
The strategic review of the Newnes Plateau option is now complete and subject to the same investigations as the Hartley options.
The department said the key difference between the two studies is that there are several separate quite feasible corridors in the Mt Victoria-Lithgow study area.
This is not the case for theNewnes Plateau.
There will be intensive community consultation over the next few weeks.
The first of the new round of community meetings will be this Monday night from6.30 to 8.30 at Fatima Hall, Bowenfels.
During the week there will also be meetings at Mt Victoria Public School on Tuesday from6.30 to 8.30; on Wednesday at the old Hartley School from noon to 2 pm, and again at that same venue from 6.30 to 8.30 that night.
On Thursday the community meeting will be at the Dargan-Clarence bushfire shed at Clarence.
A series of workshops to explore any outstanding issues will be held during the week beginning December 2.
There will also be further staffed displays on Saturday November 29 (Comet Inn, Hartley Vale and at Lithgow Library), December 6 (Lithgow Golf Club), December 9 (old Hartley School), December 10 (Clarence bushfire shed), December 11 (Lithgow motor registry) and December 13 (old Hartley School).
For more information call1800 035 733 (toll free) or email western_projects@rta.nsw.gov.au.
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