There are mixed feelings in the town of Branxton which is right near the Hunter Valley end of the new expressway.
Currently the town is a major bottleneck on the New England Highway at peak times. It is also the end of a heavy vehicle 'rat run' from Freeman's Water Hole through to Cessnock which funnels on the New England Highway at Clift Street.
Michael Lowing, the owner of local paper The Branxton Great Vineyards News, has an office on Clift Street, he says there are about 46,000 cars going through the town each day at the moment.
Mr Lowing sees ups and downs for the town once it is bypassed by the new fast road link.
On one hand he says that Branxton will be left behind when passing trade is reduced for businesses like motels and fast food shops, on the other he believes it will become an attractive place for people to move.
"It's going to be quiet, it's going to be a great place to live family wise".
But in his opinion Branxton's loss of traffic will be Singleton's gain. He says he feels sorry for the mining centre which he predicts will cop the traffic once the expressway is open.
Former Singleton Chamber of Commerce President Tony Charlesworth is also worried about the effect of increased traffic on Singleton.
"I don't think the roads of Singleton are going to cope with the volume of traffic they are going to get".
However, he says that the Singleton Shire Council have been looking at the impacts increased traffic will have for a number of years and things like signage is going to help.
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