To accommodate future population growth

Sydney's population is expected to grow to almost 6 million people by 2036, an increase of 1.7 million or 40 percent.  Increased population, higher urban densities and growing passenger and freight levels will add to the already soaring levels of congestion in Sydney.

The NSW State Government asks "Should Sydney continue to accommodate the majority of population growth in NSW?"

Building the Bells Line Expressway will:

Provide an alternative location for the increasing population of NSW.

Allow those migrating to the Central West to retain connections to the Sydney region through improved transport links.

To meet current and future transport challenges

The RTA states that road function should address the needs of:

• Mobility - the movement of people and goods; and
• Access - the ability to enter/exit land use adjacent to the road.

The Greater Western Highway is currently a mixed function road, providing both mobility and access to the major Blue Mountains centres.  Bells Line is much more focusced on mobility.

A significant amount of traffic, that would normally be expected to use Bells Line in its mobility function, is diverted to the Great Western Highway creating traffic flows well beyond its capacity.  Upgrading the existing Bells Line would provide two access roads over the Blue Mountains and provide little, if any, relieve for the already over stretched and hugely expensive Great Western Highway.

The RTA should apply its standard policy of one road for access and one for mobility to the west.

Building the Bells Line Expresway will:

Improve safety on the most dangerous transport corridor in NSW.

Provide the same standard of mobility to the west that is currently enjoyed to the north, south west and south of Sydney.

To secure Sydney's food supply

Sydney Basin agriculture is declining.  Housing development in the Southern and Northern West growth centre areas could have major consequences for food production in the Sydney region:

• The number of vegetable farms could fall by more than 50 percent
• The area producing greenhouse vegetables could fall by as much as 60 percent

The NSW State Government asks "should more be done to encourage food production in the Sydney Basin?"

Answer: YES

Should more be done to encourage food production in close proximity to the Sydney Basin?"

Answer: YES

Building the Bells Line Expressway will:

Alleviate pressure on the important agricultural lands of the Sydney Basin by encouraging a greater migration of people and businesses from Sydney to regional centres over the Blue Mountains.

Provide an efficient access route to agricultural precincts to the west of Sydney.

To provide a vital link to the inland transport corridor and Murray Darling Basin

The NSW city of Parkes is positioned to become the pre-eminent transport hub on the inland corridors running between Melbourne and Brisbane and west to Perth.  Additionally, Parkes is located on the eastern edge of the Murray Darling Basin.

The Murray Darling Basin, and the efficient transport of produce from it, is a critical component in maintaining Australia's food security.  The Basin produces $15 billion worth of produce annually (39 percent of Australia's total agricultural production).

Is there good access to Sydney from the strategically and economically significate Parkes hub and Murray Darling Basin?

Answer: No, access to Sydney from Parkes is highly inefficient.

Building the Bells Line Expressway will:

Provide a high capacity transport route from Lithgow to Sydney improving transport times and costs from the Parkes hub and the inland transport corridor.

Divert much freight traffic from Australia's East Coast between Melbourne and Brisbane to the inland transport corridor.

To strengthen links with the significant economy of Western NSW

The Western Region of NSW makes a significant contribution to the State economy:

• In total, Western NSW's mining sector contributes almost 11 percent of the State's exports.  In 2008-09, the Central West region produced 15 percent of the State's total raw coal production and 18 percent of the State's total saleable coal production.
• In 2008-09, the Western region of NSW accounted for almost one quarter of the State's agricultural production, with almost 45 percent of the gross value of wheat production in NSW produced inthe Wester region.
  

Should opportunities to expand the economic contribution of Western NSW be supported?

Answer: YES

Building the Bells Line Expressway will:

Increase opportunities to expand the economic contribution of Western NSW.

Ensure that the workforce required to enlarge the significant sectors in Western NSW can readily maintain strong links with Sydney.

What's the first step?

Preserving the Bells Line corridor

What are the benefits?

Preserving a corridor would prevent inappropriate development along the length of the corridor:

Inappropriate developments along a transport corridor can add enormous cost to a project in terms of compensation for the owners of these developments, legal costs of responding to objections and delay costs or even cancellation as a consequence of community lobbying and protests.

Preserving a corridor will maintain flexibility for the future:

Preserving the corridor would maintain the flexibility in planning options to meet the inevitable expected and unexpected changes that will impact on the NSW and Sydney economies.

Next........

Build the Expressway

Construction must start by 2015!

NRMA President Wendy Machin believes that "regional roads across NSW are tragically underfunded and claiming innocent lives every day".

(NRMA, 2011)

The Bells Line Expressway is expected to cost around $300 million over ten years.  This is a reasonable use of resouces given the transport challenges and population growth issues associated with Sydney and the west.

From a safety perspective, the NRMA reports that "a dual-divided carriageway can reduce head on collisions by up to 90 percent, and the costs saves in medical rehabilitation and care can add up to billions of dollars."

(NRMA, 2011)

Addionally, a road fulfilling mobility needs MUST be provided in order to sustain and grow the economy of the Central West.  The NRMA believes that the Great Western Highway over the Blue Mountains is "unsuitable of B-double access upgrading" and that "the Bells Line of Road will be essential to future commerce in the area."