Victoria Pass bridge rebuild to take until mid-2025
Updated ,first published
Motorists and residents seriously inconvenienced by the closure of a major highway over the Blue Mountains will have to wait another year before a new bridge structure is built over the damaged section and opened to traffic.
The closed section of the Great Western Highway at Victoria Pass is expected to reopen between April and June next year; This means it could be closed for 15 months until major construction is completed.
section of the state’s main east-west link The Victoria Causeway has been closed since March 9 after engineers detected serious cracks and ground movements in the stone causeway built by prisoners nearly 200 years ago. Road defects and swelling of the sandstone walls put the gorge at risk of collapse.
A bridge structure will be built over the existing Mitchell Pass, supported by deep piles anchored into solid bedrock below. The new crossing will sit above but independently of the convict-built crossing, which will be stabilized as part of the work.
The new crossing, which passes over the section of the highway that is generally called the goat road and consists of a single lane in both directions, will also provide an extra traffic lane.
Following confirmation of the highway closure period, an extra $20 million in support will be provided by the NSW government to small businesses experiencing financial hardship, which will be expanded to a $3.6 million package in May.
Grants for small businesses in Mount Victoria, Hartley, Little Hartley and Hartley Vale will be increased from $10,000 to $25,000, while those eligible for grants of up to $10,000 will be expanded to businesses in the suburbs of Lithgow, Oberon and Blackheath.
Contracting company Seymour Whyte was chosen from two consortiums shortlisted in May to build the new crossing. Major construction is expected to start next month, but the government has not yet announced how much the new crossing will cost taxpayers.
Geotechnical tests revealed that the bedrock beneath the pass remained intact, eliminating the need to build a more costly and complex alternative route.
Blue Mountains Labor Mayor Mark Greenhill said although it was still some time before the closed section of the highway reopened, he was relieved the end was in sight.
“This has been a very long and drawn-out saga and has caused hardship for local businesses and local communities,” he said, adding that expanded financial support was vital. “I never thought this would be a quick fix.”
Greenhill said road links that motorists had to use to get off the closed section of the motorway were under pressure and some Lithgow children attending schools in the Blue Mountains were facing long day journeys.
Lithgow Mayor Cassandra Coleman welcomed the clear timeline for repairs to the Victoria Causeway but called for more financial assistance from the state and federal governments.
“Businesses in Lithgow, particularly Hartley, have felt the effects of this closure first hand. We are not out of the woods as it will take the best part of 12 months to repair the Victoria Causeway,” he said.
“We are the hosts of the detour, and it is not our fault. This is due to decades of neglect on both sides of politics. No one’s hands are clean in this area.”
NSW Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison acknowledged the length of time the highway would remain closed would present challenges.
“I know this will mean sitting at the kitchen table and figuring out how your family is going to move and what next year is going to look like in practice,” he said.
“But I also want to emphasize what this means: We have a timeline, a contractor, and major construction for the new transition starting in July.”
He said the planned new crossing was a permanent solution, not a band-aid solution, for the section of highway at Victoria Causeway used by up to 12,000 vehicles a day.
NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane said there was white-hot anger in western communities where the divide was cut and the compensation package had barely touched either party.
“Businesses will still close. There’s still a lot the government needs to do if they’re going to satisfy communities that they’re going to be supported,” he said.
Motorists were forced to make a 25-minute detour via Darling Pass and Chifley Road as the motorway was closed. This has also put financial pressure on business owners who rely on traffic in places like Little Hartley in the Blue Mountains.
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Matt O’Sullivan is the transport and infrastructure editor of The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect with: X or email.
