OUR SOLUTION
The Newnes Plateau Corridor
The best solution from many aspects is the Northern Route along the Causeway and Chifley Road and then across the Newnes Plateau to the Mudgee turnoff at Marangaroo.
See RTA Newnes Plateau Corridor option.
We are in support of this option because:
- It by-passes Lithgow and avoid the savage grades and curves on both routes.
- It offers a choice at Bell for vehicles to travel either by the Great Western Highway or along Bells Line of Road.
- Instead of having to descend 240 meters from Mt Victoria into the valley and then ascend 140 meters at the western end beyond the River Lett Hill, the entire route is at the same level with a gradual descent of 120 meters at Marangaroo. Being in the midst of a Peak Oil crisis we would have to consider the fuel cost for vehicles being compelled to negotiate these inclines.
- The ascent to the plateau at Marangaroo is less in height (by 30 metres) and a better grade than the ascent from the floor of Hartley Valley to Forty Bends, so the northern route would completely eliminate the 240 metre ascent/descent into the valley, as well as the similar descent into Lithgow at Scenic Hill.
- Building a four-lane highway through the Hartley Valley would do enormous and irreparable damage to this historic gateway to the west, it would desecrate a community and provide only a short-term solution. There has been a continuous farming history here for almost 200 years, and we cannot imagine why anyone would want to interfere with this when there is a cheaper and more level route elsewhere that would do minimal environmental and cultural damage as well as being safer and cheaper to negotiate.
If you would like to support this solution, please TAKE ACTION.
Recommended Northern Route
This route involves only 12.6 kilometers of new road works compared to 19 kilometers through the Hartley Valley. It has no impact on the drainage into the Wollomi National Park as it lies on the south-west slopes, and does not impact on the Pagoda rock formations or the Lithgow water supply.
This is a clean economical answer that is the best compromise solution to a very difficult problem.
