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Way too much tunnel talk - time to just get on with it


Supplied.

May 16, 2022


By Peter Holmes


In April 2021 the ABC ran a detailed story about tunnels in the Blue Mountains. Construction, the story said, would begin in 2022.


In May 2021 Prime 7 Central West ran a detailed story with maps, videos and interviews about the Blue Mountains getting "Australia's longest tunnel".



"We know this is a project that has been put in the too hard basket," Bathurst MP and (now) deputy premier Paul Toole said in an interview.


The Orange News Examiner's art department was asked to provide an image that would give people a sense of the vibe.

Here we are a year on and - with a federal election just days away (coincidence!) - Toole has been out and about with roads minister Sam Farraway re-announcing the project. Again.


The latest news? The tunnel is now the "preferred option".



The state government will be delighted with Sunday's blanket coverage - not only in these parts, but around the nation - which mostly involved journalists cutting, pasting and publishing the government's press release re-announcing the tunnel.


A before and after image to the north of Foy Avenue, Medlow Bath. Supplied.

Politicians are good at this, evidenced by the number of times federal MP Andrew Gee has made announcements regarding Dixons Long Point Bridge.





Still, you can hardly blame him. Unlike other more marginal electorates, Calare is not given much pork by the Coalition for Gee to fling about ahead of a poll; the pig is being carved up and doled out elsewhere around the nation. So good news needs to be recycled.



A decent swing against the sitting member at Saturday's federal election might sharpen the focus of both major parties in terms of whether Calare gets to help itself to some pork in coming years.


If you need proof, consider that Phil Donato's very presence as the SFF state member for Orange inspired former premier Gladys Berejiklian to find $25 million for a sporting stadium. That's politics.



Back to the tunnel.


It will, the state government said on Sunday, be "around 11 kilometres long, generally to the south of the existing Great Western Highway and Mount Victoria".

It will have twin, dual-lane tunnels with wide side shoulders to allow for stopping without interrupting traffic flow.



At its deepest, south of Mount Victoria, it will be 200 metres below ground.



"Features of the tunnels, such as the on and off ramps, are subject to further development of the concept design," the government states.


The government says it's "on track for shovels to hit the ground on the east and west stages of the upgrade early [2023]".


Supplied.

Many in the Blue Mountains are sceptical the project will start on time, finish on budget, and be kept free and in government hands. We shall see.


A faster trip to and from Orange should obviously be encouraged, if we can do it without damaging the environment and ensuring cultural places of importance along the way are protected.

This is a major piece of infrastructure that has been kicked down the road by governments of various persuasions for too long. Thumbs up to Toole and Farraway on this item.



But for now, no more talk. Let's just get on with it.


SOCIAL MEDIA COMMENTS

Toll free until they sell it to Transurban. At cheap mates rates after we have paid for it to be built

- Ross


Here’s the 8 billion dollar question: toll or no toll?

- TJ


I'd double that money easy, then be sold off to some investor. Then be another toll road.

- Daniel


Please reconsider - take from Katoomba to Hartley!!!!!!

- Coral





Preferred Option and Locked In are not the same thing!
- Jim

Every 4 years they give us ... promises and every 4 years they break them but here we are lining up to vote again.

- James


Waste of money. Upper mountains should have been left alone. Highway should have gone down the Megalong Valley, then tunnel under Katoomba coming out at Springwood for the Richmond / Penrith interchange. Thus avoiding the upper mountains fog and snow and keeping the villages intact.

- Roland


I wonder if I will see it in my lifetime.

- Barbara


Why is this not going under Medlow Bath? Don't just do half a job!

- Julie


There will be hundreds of thousands of travellers, motorists and tourists thankful for this announcement, not to mention the small business owners, motel operators, land owners and the general populace of the LGA and the LGA's beyond.
- Greg

This announcement was always going to be at this time. It is a bi partisan project and I for one am glad that it has been announced after two years of hard work by all in Blackheath and Mt Vic. It’s a good news story not an election promise…

- Sally


It's only bypassing Mt Victoria and Blackheath - what a waste. The bottleneck starts at Lapstone and finishes at Bathurst. The hole should start at the foot of the mountain and end the other side Lithgow 3/4 lane 100km/h. Plan for the future.

- Clifford



Is there an election coming?? This tunnel might start construction in 2023 if the NSW coalition get Central Western people votes. It is beyond a joke that every highway into the Sydney basin has uninterrupted freeways access except the highway that services the people from the western NSW.

- Michael


The Nats desperately want Orange back from the SF&F party.
- Alison

I like the idea. So long as you keep your word!

- Rowan


That’s awesome news.

- Allen

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