A LONG-TALKED-ABOUT southern bypass of Bathurst might have been given a new impetus after it was included in a long-term planning document for the region.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Central West and Orana Regional Plan, released by the NSW Government earlier this month, aims to provide a 20-year blueprint for the future of the region stretching from Lithgow to the Western Plains.
One of the plan’s main aims is to identify ways to improve freight and transport networks in the region to capitalise on the proximity to some of Australia’s largest cities.
The Bathurst bypass is listed in the plan among a number of proposed and funded (in the case of Dubbo’s new bridge to be built across the Macquarie River) road upgrades.
“Bathurst Regional Council has proposed a CBD bypass that would take heavy vehicles out of the city of Bathurst and link them to industrial sites,” the regional plan says.
Mayor Graeme Hanger said the bypass proposal dates back almost 10 years, but its inclusion in the new plan is an acknowledgement of the benefits to the entire Central West.
“In 2008, council engaged [engineering and design firm] Parsons Brinckerhoff Australia to investigate the need for a southern ring road route,” he said.
“The study was commissioned as a direct recommendation of the Bathurst Region Urban Strategy adopted by council in 2007, which recommended that council investigate the need for such a route.
“The study identified a need for the route both as a local road and as a heavy vehicle bypass and heavy vehicle link between the city's business and industrial areas.”
Council adopted the study as a strategic document, Cr Hanger said, but no funding has been allocated to identify a proposed route.
“The need for the road is included in the Bathurst Community Strategic Plan 2036 and has been raised by council at regional and state level in relation to not only its local benefit, but its regional transport benefits,” he said.
Cr Hanger said the Central West and Orana Regional Plan “acknowledges the benefits of the [bypass] road to not only Bathurst, but the Central West region”.
The inclusion of the Bathurst bypass in the plan comes after the NSW Government committed $3.4 million in funding to Orange’s proposed southern bypass.
There is still a shortfall in the full $16.9 million needed for the work to start, but Orange City Council is looking for further funding.
Orange’s Southern Feeder Road will link the Mitchell Highway east of the city with Jack Brabham Park and will include a new bridge over the railway line.
Orange already has a northern bypass road.