It was almost like Christmas had come early on Friday when the new roundabout at the intersection of George and Howick streets finally reopened to traffic.

And why not? For almost two months the intersection had been closed to traffic, creating a degree of chaos - and frustration - for drivers in the CBD.

And hit even worse during the construction phase were businesses in close proximity to the roundabout who had seen trading drop considerably over the past couple of months. Several had been counting down the days until the intersection was reopened.

But the completion of one roundabout has naturally focused the attention of many in town on another roundabout project.

Proposals to improve the safety and functionality of Bathurst's worst intersection - the intersection of Mitre, Suttor and Lambert streets at West Bathurst - have been on [and off] the drawing board at Bathurst Regional Council for more than 20 years.

In that time, four separate engineering reports have recommended a roundabout be installed at the intersection but it was only last year - and after a concerted community campaign led by West Bathurst residents Kent and Dianne McNab - that council formally backed such a proposal and made money available in the budget.

Since then it has been an agonising wait for work to begin but, we're assured, there has been plenty going on behind the scenes.

Designs for the new intersection and roundabout have already been made public but the project will also include the complex task of updating services infrastructure that runs beneath the roundabout.

Some of the pipes have been in the ground for more than a century and need to be replaced but locating all the services before ripping up the entire intersection has not been easy.

That planning has taken longer than expected and council is also working on acquiring some property near the intersection to allow the upgrade to take place.

It all takes time, a lot of time, but nothing compared to the time the project has taken to get this far.

But the day work can start is always getting closer, and that means the day the roundabout is completed is also getting closer.

And that will be a day that really feels like Christmas.