Thread: Highway through Newnes NSW

This is just more hot air from the Pollies to create the impression that they're doing something about the mess this state is in, without actually doing anything.

As you might recall during the Federal Election, there was a fierce bidding war between one side who wanted to commit $20mil to a study for the Bells Rd superhighway (a study only, not build it) and they were prepared to put up half the money if the broke and financially strangled State would put up the other half (which it knew it couldn't), and the other side who said that the study was a waste of money that could be better used funding blackspots on the GWH. Well, the "Other side" won, and the Fed member for the Mountains promised a $2mil study (hey, what happened to fixing the blackspots, eh?) between Mt Vic and Bowenfels. At the first of the public meetings to discuss the study, he was publicly embarrassed by a pollie from the Nationals, who wanted to divert the study to consider portions of the originals Bells Highway proposal! To save embarassment and be seen "Doing something", the study will now receive more funding to consider the aspects of the original proposal that they fought against at the Election!

Not one of these proposals has suggested actually building the roads in question, just to spend money on investigating possible routes. The route suggested by the Bells Highway group was actually surveyed in 1863 as the original, easiest route for the Railway before the Zig Zag was built nearer to coal interests in the Lithgow valley. Why spend $20mil of our money to consider a route, when they can just pull out the 1863 survey? Because a Newnes Plateau Freeway would see the unthinkable happening with 4wd'ers and trailbike enthusiasts uniting with radical green groups to protest it.

As it is, why waste our breath? The need for the bypass has been based on future traffic modelling brought to you by the number crunchers that found the Cross City tunnel and Lane Cove Tunnel would create sufficient traffic to make them financially viable.
Quote: "Statistics reveal that on average some 14,000 vehicles a day travel this length of highway and of these about 2100 are heavy transport vehicles. Traffic movement on the section between Mt Victoria and Lithgow is tipped to increase to 20,000 by the year 2125 as part of a general increase of three per cent a year between Sydney and the Central West."
Will traffic increase by 50% over the next 15 years, during a time when petrol has been predicted to rise to $8 a litre? Lithgow City Council has found that traffic has already FALLEN 8% since this time last year. Stop wasting millions of our tax dollars.

$8/litre!