AN increase in the speed limit on an upgraded Great Western Highway in the Blue Mountains is not possible due to the problems of geometry, according to Transport for NSW western region director Alistair Lunn.
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But Mr Lunn says the limit will rise to 100 kilometres an hour from the base of Victoria Pass to South Bowenfels, outside Lithgow, in the upgrade to the highway, for which $2.5 billion has so far been set aside.
The Western Advocate asked Mr Lunn why the proposed mammoth project from Katoomba to Lithgow - which was announced in Bathurst in the lead-up to the 2019 NSW election - wouldn't allow the limit to increase in the Blue Mountains and further reduce the time taken to travel from Bathurst to Sydney.
From Mount Victoria and on to Katoomba, Mr Lunn said, the tight nature of the corridor the NSW Government has to work within makes it "very hard to get the geometry right to get that 100 kilometres an hour".
There is "not a lot of room to move", he said, between the escarpment, the existing road and the rail corridor as the NSW Government considers its options to provide a four-lane divided road from Katoomba to Lithgow.
As well, a number of roads and properties will still be joining the highway, he said, so 80 kilometres an hour would remain "more appropriate" in the Blue Mountains.
Still, Mr Lunn said the projection was for the highway upgrade to reduce the travel time between Bathurst and Sydney by 10 minutes and "significantly more" during peak times such as weekends and after major events.
At a town hall meeting in Blackheath held as part of the community feedback phase for the project, Mr Lunn said some members of the community did not want to see any upgrade to the highway through the village.
Of those that did, a tunnel under the township was the preferred choice, he said.
The NSW Government is keeping its options open for the Blackheath section of the upgrade, saying bridges, tunnels and an outer bypass are all being considered.
Mr Lunn said the statistics showed the difference a divided highway would make from Katoomba to Lithgow as part of the $2.5b upgrade.
The upgrades that had divided the Great Western Highway east of Katoomba, he said, had led to a 70 per cent reduction in fatal crashes.
"Separate east and westbound carriageways really lead to large safety improvements," he said.
