Great Western Highway upgrade: residents petition government to halt planning

Residents are calling for planning for the upgrade of the Great Western Highway to halt, with claims some are being blocked from feedback on the best option for the community.

First residents were told the Great Western Highway would be expanded, then, they were shocked to find the government accidentally sent compulsory acquisitions notices for their properties.

Now some are being told they can’t join the consultation group that will help decide the fate of their towns.

Growing issues surrounding the State Government’s $2.5 billion plans to upgrade the Great Western Highway between Katoomba and Lithgow have sparked more than 5000 of outraged residents to petition for all plans to be halted, with Blue Mountains state Labor MP Trish Doyle championing their cause in parliament.

Blackheath Highway Action Group spokesman Michael Paag said the major concern from the community was “the way local residents and the broader community have been treated” by the government with accidental acquisition letters causing “significant emotional and financial stress”.

“The $2.5 billion proposal to upgrade 31km of the Great Western Highway is unfunded,” Mr Paag told The Blue Mountains News. “Transport For NSW hasn’t even completed the traffic modelling and business case to justify the upgrade — yet it is charging ahead pushing the community into a process to deliver the least worst outcome.”

Mr Paag, who was once a Liberal Party candidate for the state seat of Blue Mountains, described the project as a “multibillion-dollar Band-Aid” claiming the government was ignoring election commitments and going against the advice of experts.

Blackheath give a show of hands in support of BAG's approach to the problem of 30m B-double trucks being pushed onto their roads by the State Government.

“Some groups within the strategic corridor have also been excluded (from the committee set up to develop the upgrade plan),” Mr Paag said.

“Many of the co-design committee members feel gagged because they cannot communicate the full details of the upgrade proposals to members of the groups they represent.”

The action group member argued the spending of $2.5 billion to duplicate the highway to save 10 minutes would negatively impact residents and tourism: “And the government continues to ignore several unaddressed safety issues on the highway east of Katoomba”.

“We call on the government to lift the corridor it placed over people’s homes and businesses now and work constructively with us, the Central West and the freight industry to deliver a long term and sustainable transport solution,” he said.

Ms Doyle said decades worth of previous plans for the widening of the Great Western Highway had been canned as they were “not economically or environmentally viable”.

“Residents came to me petitioning the government to stop any work or planning for the project until after thorough consultation could be conducted and the business case is released,” she told The Blue Mountains News.

Blackheath Highway Action Group spokesman Michael Paag. Picture: Darren Edwards

“People are angry — and rightly so — some were shocked to discover a letter telling them their homes and businesses would be compulsorily acquired before the director apologised and backtracked.

“Now some members of the community feel they are not worthy of consultation because they have been refused from the co-design committee while others are accepted.”

Four possible routes, including two bypasses of Blackheath, were recently assessed by the co-design committee.

Ms Doyle said the most appropriate plan would be to “move freight to rail” to prevent mega B-double trucks from careering down the Great Western Highway.

“There are no easy answers for this highway and we do need safety improvements,” she said.

Transport for NSW Director West Alistair Lunn said the plan was to provide “safer, more efficient, more reliable journeys, and to better connect communities with the central west”.

Mr Lunn said more than 1700 people made submissions regarding the upgrade plans, sparking the need for the “Blackheath Co-Design Committee” which requires members to be a current resident of landowner, have involvement in local community groups, have knowledge of upgrade plans and awareness of concerns of the wider community.

Transport for NSW director for western region Alistair Lunn apologised for the compulsory acquisition letters.

“Committee members were invited from key local stakeholder and community interest groups, and an open application process was conducted by independent consultants to select two additional community representatives,” he said.

“The committee will select a preferred option for the upgraded road through the town, which will then be presented to the broader community for consultation.”