Mr. Toole told the Western lawyer newspaper in Bathurst, a four-kilometer tunnel will pass under Mount Victoria as part of the duplication. A tunnel under Blackheath was announced last year.

“We are looking at two options under Blackheath – a four kilometer tunnel and a 4.5 km tunnel option,” he told the Lawyer.

“They [Mount Victoria and Blackheath] are both areas of the Great Western Highway where traffic builds up after a long weekend, after school holidays.

He gave details of the preliminary drilling work.

“Anyone who has traveled the Great Western Highway would have seen that there were large drilling machines that drilled into the earth. We are looking at where these portals could be for tunneling – where they will enter, where they will exit. .

“We are working with the communities – there has been a lot of consultation. Environmental studies have been undertaken. So there is already a lot of work going on.

The Bathurst MP’s comments came as residents of Medlow Bath continued to push for an even longer tunnel from Katoomba to Hartley, “allowing the existing highway to become a world-class tourist route.”

“The residents of the High Blue Mountains continue to pressure Paul Toole to abandon his highway duplication project, which will not only lead to years of traffic delays, caused by construction, the end result will destroy the tourist attraction of the historic significance of the townships of the High Blue Mountains, ”said Medlow Bath Action Group chairman Stephen Caswell.

“It is inconceivable that the proposed widening from four to five lanes across Medlow Bath and the pedestrian bridge complies with obligations to preserve the visual appeal of the heritage listed Hydro Majestic Hotel.

“The end result at Medlow Bath will not relieve traffic congestion due to the 60 km / hour speed limit, traffic lights and the lack of an alternate access route during accidents and traffic lights. bush. “

Instead, residents of Medlow Bath and local businesses continue to pressure Mr Toole to build a long tunnel from Katoomba to Hartley.

Mr Caswell said a longer tunnel would be safer by preventing 30-meter trucks “from having to deal with unpredictable weather events. The technology is available for such a tunnel and the preliminary costs compare favorably with the duplication of the existing motorway “.

The issue came to the fore this Easter long weekend when hours were added to the journey between Sydney and the central west when part of the Bells road line was closed due to landslides caused by heavy rains. Bells Line has since reopened in limited capacity.

The NSW government has so far committed $ 2.5 billion for a duplication of the Katoomba to Lithgow motorway and Mr Toole said work is continuing to prepare for the massive project.

He told the Western lawyer the government knows that the duplication of the Great Western Highway “will cost over $ 2.5 billion”.

“But this investment will give us short and medium term projects that are needed to improve this stretch of road,” he said.