Though the designs for the duplication still have to be finalised, Mr Toole is adamant the project will be “well and truly” underway in this financial year.

The duplication of the highway to Raglan was the smaller of the two major announcements made by the NSW Government in Bathurst late last month, overshadowed by the plan to duplicate 30 kilometres of the Great Western Highway from Katoomba to Forty Bends, near Lithgow.

But while money has only been allocated to planning for the Blue Mountains duplication at this stage, the full $30 million cost of the Raglan duplication has been committed, Mr Toole said.

“The RMS [Roads and Maritime Services] team will finalise the design and plans and scope of works and they will then go on exhibition later in the year,” he said.

“By the end of the year, you will see physical works commencing.”

That physical work will be preparations at the site for the major work to come afterwards, he said.

Mr Toole said the new lanes will be built on the highway from the Gold Panner Motor Inn on the outskirts of Kelso, where the previous highway duplication ended, to around Ceramic Avenue on the outskirts of Raglan.

He expects the duplication to be finished in the 2019-20 financial year.

Mr Toole said a footpath will be built during the duplication works – as was the case during the duplication through Kelso.

It will mean residents of Raglan can walk into the CBD by the end of the construction, he said.

“It’s also a great opportunity to really finalise the beautification of the city on the eastern side of Bathurst,” he said.

​Where the Kelso work took almost two-and-a-half years and cost more than $100 million, the duplication from Kelso to Raglan will not be as complicated, Mr Toole said.

“The Kelso project had extensive underground services that needed to be removed,” he said.

“While we know there are a number of services in this section [Kelso to Raglan] as well, it won't be in same magnitude as Kelso.

“There will be fewer residents and fewer businesses impacted.”

As part of the plans to duplicate the highway through the Blue Mountains, the NSW Government will investigate bypasses of Blackheath and Mount Victoria.