The Mount Victoria - River Lett Hill Bypass, Bells Line Expressway and Newnes Plateau
The last Hut News (p5) noted the community consultation process for the bypass. At various meetings in Mt Vic, Hartley, Hartley Vale and Lithgow, the RTA emphasised that no specific route had been chosen, but the meetings naturally caused concerned speculation by those likely to be affected. At most of the meetings there was an orchestrated view that the RTA study area, which followed the Darling Causeway but stopped short of Bell, should be extended to include Newnes Plateau. The objective of this was to remove any threat to the consulted communities, even though the route from Bell to Marangaroo (Fig. 1) inevitably affected the hitherto unconsulted communities of Dargan, Newnes Junction and Clarence.
The Hartley Action Group, apparently representing some of the interests of the Mt Vic, Hartley, Hartley Vale and South Lithgow communities, prevailed upon the RTA to extend the area to include the Newnes Plateau 'alternative corridor' (Fig. 1). This route, which bypasses Hartley and Lithgow, has great appeal to those in the Central West because, from Marangaroo to Bell, it would form the western end of the Bells Line Expressway (BLE).
BMCS acknowledges the concerns of the consulted communities, although in terms of practicable routes there is little likelihood of direct impacts on Mt Vic, Hartley, south Lithgow and the localised heritage values of Hartley Vale. Conversely, as a group committed to preserving the natural environment of the Blue Mountains, BMCS is fearful of the threat posed to Newnes Plateau and the implications of the Newnes corridor for furthering construction of the BLE and thereby damaging the World Heritage Area (WHA).
As many members will be aware, Newnes Plateau is part of the Gardens of Stone Stage 2 proposal (by BMCS, the Colong Foundation and the Colo Committee) for reservation within the parks system. Reasons for reservation are many: Newnes is the highest sandstone plateau in the Blue Mountains and contains a level of biodiversity not found in the Blue Mountains national parks; its swamp habitats are protected by Federal and State law; its geodiversity (geology and geomorphology) is outstanding; there is an abundance of indigenous and non-indigenous cultural heritage; and it comprises a region for low-impact recreation.
Incising a corridor through Newnes Plateau will impact on the established values by: fragmentation of habitats; increasing susceptibility to off-road 4wd and trailbike impacts (numerous eroded tracks, destruction of habitat and damage to pagodas, disregard of indigenous heritage); exposing more of the Plateau to sand mining (distance from road and rail is an economic negative); exacerbating noise and dust pollution; and facilitating illegal hunting. Furthermore, as the principal trucking route to and from Sydney, it would compromise the amenity of the Dargan-Clarence communities and could impact on rail heritage in the Dargan Lakes area.
Selecting the Newnes corridor will undoubtedly give life to those advocating the BLE. Should this ever be constructed in the face of past feasibility studies that resulted in its rejection by both Federal and State Ministers for Transport, it would be an economic, environmental and social disaster. In the hope that sanity will prevail, the detailed implications for the WHA and communities along the route will not be considered further.
The conservation values of Newnes Plateau and the implications of a BLE are not the only reasons for opposing the 'alternative corridor'. Compared with any route in the 'Hartley' study area, the 'corridor' would involve design, engineering and maintenance considerations that would necessitate: constructing at least twice the amount of new road and upgrading an additional amount of the Darling Causeway and the Chifley Road between Bell and Clarence; dealing with elevations above 1150m with substantial exposure to snow, ice and fogs; coping with long-term subsidence adjustments from 'old' underground mines; anticipating subsidence associated with the current and future operations of Springvale and Clarence Collieries; interacting with the exploration and surface management requirements of existing mining leases; minimising conflict with current and future sand mining; accommodating State Forest harvesting operations; and conceivably affecting Lithgow's water supply. And this totally disregards the immediate and longer-term economic impacts of bypassing Lithgow and the Oberon-Jenolan turn-off.
The Society believes that arguments opposing the alternative corridor' outweigh any perceived advantages. This does not mean that the Society is disregarding the cultural heritage and other values of Mt Vic, the Mt York region and Hartley Vale. Indeed, the Society will critically assess any route identified by the RTA to ensure that all conservation values are properly protected.
Should anyone wish to know more about the bypass route and community consultation go to the RTA website
http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/constructionmaintenance/majorconstructionprojectsregional/mt_victoria_lithgow/communityinvolvement.html
and follow the links to the 'Initial area' and 'Newnes Plateau corridor', or contact the Project Manager as indicated below.
Should you share Management Committee's concerns about the future of Newnes Plateau, the Bells Line Expressway, and cultural heritage, please express your views to the Project Manager Dion Killiby (email: western_projects@rta.nsw.gov.au, phone: 1800 035 733 (toll free), post: PO Box 334, Parkes NSW 2870).
Fig. 1 (ref: RTA householders flyer, July 2008)
Brian Marshall, BMCS National Parks Officer