WET weather, in Bathurst and elsewhere in the state, continues to put a dampener on the $45 million upgrade of the Great Western Highway from Kelso to east of Raglan.
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Transport for NSW told the Western Advocate in January that more than 50 days had been lost on the project in the previous 10 months due to wet weather and, in an update, the agency says another 15 days have been affected by rain already this year.
However, Transport for NSW has emphasised that work on the project is continuing and a contract earthworks crew is expected to be on-site early next month.
A concept design for the multi-million dollar upgrade to the highway was released in mid-2019, the upgrade was given planning approval in mid-2020 and work started in January 2021 after a hold-up due to property acquisitions.
IN OTHER NEWS AROUND BATHURST:
Last year turned out to be a rainy one for Bathurst, though, and the almost 800 millimetres that fell within the project area from March until the start of 2022 resulted in 54 days of work being lost - nearly one-third of the available working days within the program.
Bathurst has recorded 330mm for this year so far - 142mm of that in January alone.
"Work on the Great Western Highway between Kelso and Raglan project is ongoing with vegetation removal on the southern side of the Great Western Highway taking place last week to allow for utility relocation," a Transport for NSW spokesperson said in response to a request for an update on the project.
"Work is continuing on the relocation of gas and water services along with stormwater drainage work, earthworks, kerbing and guttering, and landscaping.
"The relocation of electrical services is expected to start at the end of the month, weather permitting."
The spokesperson said there had been "around 15 rain-affected days this year" and earthworks had been put on hold since Friday, March 25 as crews had been "diverted to carry out other tasks across the roads network".
"It's anticipated a contract earthworks crew will start on-site in early May," the spokesperson said.
Work on the project was also affected last year because the project team had to help with urgent repairs and "incident management" at other locations on the highway.
