BELLS LINE EXPRESSWAY FAST FACTS

• The Bells Line Expressway is a vital infrastructure project linking Sydney and the Central West.
  
• Streamlined access between those regions is critically important to the growth of Sydney, the State and the Nation.
  
• The Bells Line Expressway will be a 100-110 kph four lane route with an average speed of 90 kph and a gradient generally less than seven percent.
  
• The expressway will be suitable for all types of vehicles including B-Doubles.
  
• The Bells Line Expressway will reduce travel time between Lithgow and Windsor by 25 minutes for cars and 20 minutes for trucks.
  
• Once this expressway is completed, it will be faster to travel from Windsor to Lithgow than from Windsor to the CBD.
  
• The total cost of the road is estimated to be around $2 billion.
  
• Once the expressway is completed, it is estimated that traffic volumes along the route could almost triple by 2011, with continued growth exceeding current estimates by 66 percent to 2031.
  
• The new expressway will provide a pressure valve for the Hawkesbury - Windsor area, allowing development to flow across the Blue Mountains and preserving the area's unique semi-rural lifestyle.
  
• With Sydney's population growing by around 640 per week, the Bells Line Expressway will allow the development of new population expansion areas to ensure people have access to affordable and enjoyable lifestyles.
  
• The Bells Line Expressway will save lives by providing the first ever flood-free escape route for people living in the Hawkesbury - Windsor area.
  
• The twin routes across the mountains today - the Great Western Highway (GWH) and the Bells Line of Road (BLoR) - are not able to adequately service the growing residential, agricultural, industrial, education, health, lifestyle and tourist potential of the Central West.