The roundabout will sit at the intersection of the highway and Littlebourne Street, replacing the existing traffic lights.

Roads and Maritime Services project manager Craig Matthews said the roundabout will be moved into different positions over the coming months to allow for the construction of a permanent roundabout.

“What we’re doing here is building ultimately a very large roundabout,” he said. “The staging here is to build this new intersection using a small roundabout, so we will have two small roundabouts which will move across to allow us to do the other parts of the intersection.”

Mr Matthews expects there will be little congestion on the roundabout, with the Lee Street diversion taking the majority of cars travelling to Oberon that would ordinarily use Littlebourne Street.

NSW Minister for Roads Duncan Gay visited Bathurst on Monday to inspect the work on the project.

He said motorists might be startled by the new fixture, but will soon adjust to it.

“This roundabout is just huge. It has to accommodate two B-doubles side by side going around, so that gives you some idea of how big it is,” he said

The upgrade to the Great Western Highway is due for completion in mid-2017, weather permitting.

Mr Gay said work is progressing well at the site, thanks in large part to the cooperation of the community during the construction.

“Along here there are businesses all the way that rely on highway trade and people’s houses that they need an ability to enter, and exit as well,” he said.

“Burtons and RMS have worked well with the community to keep the angst at a minimum and by and large people have been happy with the way it’s been going.”