'Relief' as highway roadworks to fix dangerous intersection commence

On May 17 it was announced that Mitchell Highway intersection with Pretty Plains Road, about 20 kilometres east of Orange, would be widened to provide a dedicated left turn lane for westbound drivers.

Petcare Extraordinaire operates on the western corner of the intersection, with owner Louise O'Brien having seen her fair share of near-misses over the past 17 years.

"Three times that I can remember straight away about cars being clipped coming from Bathurst to Orange, wanting to turn and someone's got them from behind," she said.

"No turning lane, that's the only issue. The rest of it, touch wood, has been fine."

Work at Pretty Plains began on May 20 with upgrades to be carried out between 7am and 6pm from Monday to Friday and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays. No work will occur on Sundays or public holidays.

Ms O'Brien said while the upgrades were "definitely needed", there would be a few "minor" inconveniences while work is carried out.

"To turn before, I used to get right over the white line and be half-way off the road to turn. Now you can't with that concrete barrier there," she added.

"It will be a bit tricky with that concrete panelling that they have to do. You'll have to be really careful."

A reduced speed limit of 40 km/h will be in place through the intersection, with a stop/slow condition in place.

Some lane closures and night work may be required. It's anticipated this work will be completed mid-year, weather permitting, although no specific date has been announced.

Once the lane construction is complete crews will conduct line-marking and then install flexible safety barriers on the side of the road to help protect vehicles.

Overall, Ms O'Brien was pleased the work would be carried out and confirmed it was business as usual at Petcare.

"We made sure that people would have access to our facilities at all times," she added.

The works are being undertaken as part of the NSW Government's Safer Roads and Network Efficiency Program.