THE long-sought-after Bells Line Expressway over the Blue Mountains should be the next big priority for the state and federal governments, according to Member for Calare Andrew Gee.
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Fresh from a trip along the road with federal Infrastructure Minister Darren Chester, a bullish Mr Gee has provided hope for those who have spent years lobbying for a better Bells Line.
He believes that once work is completed on the Pacific Highway in 2019-20, the Blue Mountains Expressway should become the next priority for the two governments.
Mr Chester drove Bells Line, one of two routes over the Blue Mountains, with Mr Gee last week because the Member for Calare said it was important for the Infrastructure Minister to see the road first-hand.
As well as looking at the upgrade work that has already been completed by the NSW Government, including new overtaking lanes, Mr Gee said the trip was an opportunity to show Mr Chester that more needed to be done.
“The only reason we have seen improvements on Bells Line in the last few years is because communities of the west and local representatives have been fighting very hard for it,” Mr Gee said.
“There’s more that can be done and what I’m interested in in the short term is to get funding to keep those important improvements going.
“In the longer term the communities in the west really want a Bells Line Expressway.”
Western Region Institute chairman Mark Burdack said an expressway would boost the state’s west.
“By its very nature, the Great Dividing Range is a divider between Sydney and western NSW,” Mr Burdack said.
“If you look at Victoria, without that geographic barrier it has good rail links and road links to regional areas and the economic growth of those regions outstrips western NSW.
“That’s why we have to look at how to overcome that barrier.”
Mr Burdack said it would be up to governments to decide if the expressway was the most effective way of relieving population pressure and rising land prices in Sydney.
“Most people in western NSW would see it as an important investment, but the NSW Government has to look and see if it is the best investment,” he said.
Mr Chester was pleased to see the improvements that had already taken place, but said there was “no question more work is required”.
