A new road bridge at the centre of the Great Western Highway upgrade at Little Hartley is now open to traffic.
The 70-metre-long bridge has been built by a large cohort of local people using locally sourced materials, including concrete from Lithgow and quarry materials from Oberon.
The bridge will carry motorists up and across a new section of the highway to the local road network extending west to Jenolan Caves.
Completion of the grade-separated interchange at Coxs River Road is a milestone for the $232 million jointly funded project to improve safety and efficiency.
The new two-span bridge is 15 metres wide with a shared path for pedestrians and cyclists so active commuters can also safely cross the highway.
In total, 530 jobs will be supported by this upgrade, with work now turning to completion of the 2.4-kilometre new section of dual-lane, separated Great Western Highway.
More than 30 per cent of the entire workforce on this upgrade since work started in March 2023 are local residents from Lithgow, Bathurst and Blue Mountains LGAs, and over 30 local businesses have been engaged.
As well as the concrete and gravel, 300 tonnes of steel was used to build the road bridge, which rests on 14 precast Super T girders, which are each 34 metres long and weigh 60 tonnes.
Once asphalting and sealing of the new road is complete, the site will be landscaped.
The Coxs River Road Upgrade is on track to be completed in 2025.
