CONSTRUCTION on a Muswellbrook Bypass could begin within the next five years, according to Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) regional manager Hunter, Anna Zycki.
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Members of the Muswellbrook Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) listened intently to the guest speaker at their monthly breakfast on Tuesday. Upper Hunter MP Michael Johnsen welcomed Ms Zycki to update members on the Bypass.
Ms Zycki said a typical major project development has four steps: feasibility and options; recommended preferred option – submission to Australian government and recommendation from NSW Minister to Australian government minister; concept design and environmental assessment; detailed design and property acquisition, and; construction.
She said the Muswellbrook Bypass is currently at the third stage of concept design and environmental assessment, and, until the process moves through each stage, it can be hard to estimate accurately how long it could take for the project to be completed.
There has been $1 million allocated in 2015/16 to continue planning on the Muswellbrook Bypass, and the NSW government has committed $68 million to the project under the Rebuilding NSW program.
Ms Zycki said the next steps for the Muswellbrook Bypass are to review current design in light of feedback from 2005 community display, changes to traffic volumes and mining operations; display a “refined” concept design for community comment; complete environmental assessment; following environmental approval and satisfactory Business Case, commence detailed design and property acquisitions, and; commence construction subject to federal funding approval.
“We are aiming to have that environmental assessment done in 2016/17,” she said.
And, following the assessment, the RMS expects the detailed design and property acquisition stage to take them to 2017/18.
Following that, Ms Zycki said they would be looking at doing early works on the bypass, pending approval from the federal government.
“With Singleton and Muswellbrook [bypasses], we have quite a lot of money to spend and we have to spend it within this term,” she said.
“In order to spend that sort of money we will have to have constructions on the ground.
“We have to spend some construction money in that time.”
Ms Zycki said there is already route option for the Muswellbrook Bypass, and the RMS hopes to have a new concept design for the available for public comment in around six months.
Muswellbrook Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Mike Kelly said he enjoyed Ms Zycki’s presentation on the topic.
“We will certainly look forward to more consultation that will bring more certainty,” he said.
