High Street Upgrade on the fast track

Wednesday, 11 July 2018

The essential upgrade works in High Street are ongoing and on schedule, with the next section due to start on Monday 16 July.

The essential upgrade works in High Street are ongoing and on schedule, with the next section due to start on Monday 16 July.

From next Monday, construction will start on the north side of High Street, staying between Woodriff and Station Streets. Traffic conditions will also change - eastbound traffic will close and westbound traffic will reopen.

This change in works marks the start of the new, accelerated program of works that will see construction happening day and night to ensure completion before December 2018.

Originally expected to last 12 months, Council has now accelerated the program, which has been made possible through savings achieved during the first stage of the works.

Penrith Mayor Cr John Thain said it's critical that we have the right infrastructure through our City Centre to protect local business, residents and visitors alike.

"The works in High Street are essential. We're replacing the current stormwater drainage because it's under capacity and could result in flash flooding and causing significant damage to buildings, businesses and the environment," Cr Thain said.

"Upgrading the stormwater system is necessary to protect businesses and Penrith from future flash flooding. The new system being installed will provide that protection for years to come.

"While we're there doing that essential work, we've taken the opportunity to upgrade High Street - making it a much more inviting, accessible, and safer place for our residents to enjoy," he said.

"There's a lot of growth and change on the horizon for Penrith, and while it's an exciting time, Council also understands that change and construction can be frustrating for the people living and doing business here.

"That's why, when we identified significant savings in the High Street construction project, we reinvested that money in the project so we could speed up the works and bring the completion date forward by four months," Cr Thain continued.

"Disruption is unfortunate but unavoidable with essential city works like this, but we want to minimise the impact whenever we can. This project's original program was focussed on doing just that, and now that we've been able to fund an accelerated program, we're excited to reduce the inconvenience to local businesses and the community even further.

"Our sincere thanks go out to local businesses and the community for their ongoing patience, understanding and support during the works," Cr Thain concluded.

The additional works will mean there will be much larger areas of simultaneous works happening, however the overall impact to the works will be reduced significantly, with works now expected to be finished in late November 2018, instead of March 2019.

All works are subject to weather of course, and Council will continue to keep businesses and the community informed as works progress.

You can stay up to date with the works program through Council's website yoursaypenrith.com.au/HighStreet.

Information contained within this news release was correct as at Wednesday, 11 July 2018.