WORK may have only just wrapped up at Kelso, but local and state government bodies are already looking at the potential for expansion of the Great Western Highway at Raglan.
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Member for Bathurst Paul Toole used Tuesday’s official opening of the upgrade at Kelso as an opportunity to speak to the Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight, Melinda Pavey, about the future of the busy road while she was in the city.
“Already I’ve written to the minister about it, today she is actually here directly in the electorate and I’ve been able to raise it again with her, to have a look at the road first hand,” he said.
“Certainly over the coming months I’ll be continuing to lobby for the need for this road to be extended right out to Raglan.”
Bathurst Regional Council also wants to see dual lanes in either direction at Raglan near the airport.
Councillor Ian North raised the issue during his time as the city’s deputy mayor, saying in late 2015 that the highway wouldn’t cater to Raglan’s projected growth.
On Tuesday, current deputy mayor Michael Coote expressed similar sentiments.
“I feel if we could possibly get it out past the airport turnoff it would be great. If it has to be two lanes and one lane, I think that is something to look at, or if we can do two lanes both sides, I think it is a great idea,” he said.
“It is something that we’ve been lobbying the minister Paul Toole for and also I’ve been talking to the minister this morning for Roads, Maritime and Freight as well in regards to it.”
Mr Coote acknowledged that the project at Kelso has cost more than expected, but said he was hopeful the NSW Government could find the money to help expand the highway further.
“We just have to see what other funding is available,” he said.
Ms Pavey said Mr Toole had been “lobbying very hard” for it and she can certainly see merit in expanding the highway, to at least have two eastbound lanes and one westbound lane.
“I’ll talk to Roads and Maritime Services about that. It’s in need of a bit of maintenance, but we’ll see what we can do, because once you improve one section you don’t want to create a bigger problem somewhere else,” she said
“We’ll look at the traffic numbers, volumes and the budget to see if we can do that.”
