With 72 weeks, or roughly 18 months until its scheduled completion, council is preparing for life after the Kempsey bypass.

Bruce Potts, council’s bypass coordinator, was employed in July last year.

Since then the residents of Kempsey have been consulted in a range of ways to obtain input and feedback relating to the bypass.

Mr Potts is responsible for council’s strategic response and preparedness for the bypass, which is scheduled for completion in June, 2013.

Mr Potts said the council is working to create what local people want and to enhance social, economic and cultural wealth in the Macleay.

“We are working on making it a better, smarter place through urban design,” he said.

“We are also working to create what the people of Kempsey and surrounding areas want.”

In addition to dedicated consultations targeting residents and business owners of South Kempsey, Kempsey CBD and Frederickton, council has also liaised extensively with school students, business and industry to seek their input.

Information has also been disseminated via the Bypass Information Group (BIG), which represents a wide range of community organisations, including chambers of commerce.

“The Pacific Hwy bypass will have the same transforming effect on the town as the construction of the North Coast Railway last century,” Mr Potts said.

“It is critical we get feedback from all sectors of the community to ensure the master planning process for this historic event reflects the views and needs of the broader population.”

The campaign carries the tagline ‘Hatching Something Big’, with the concept conceived by the Juzvolter Graphic Design Studio, based in Taree.

The official logo has three stages, which feature the life cycle of a chicken.

The three logos include the tag lines ‘hatching something b.i.g’, ‘building something b.i.g’ and the final stage, ‘something b.i.g to crow about’.

“We were keen to come up with a campaign image that was fun, vibrant, a little bit ‘country’, that had a sense of optimism and, most importantly, would grab people’s attention,” Mr Potts said.

“We’ve tested the audience with the concept and the response has been extremely positive.

The campaign is definitely

a proven conversation starter and that’s what the idea is all about.”

He said that council would be working slowly and methodically towards producing positive outcomes for the bypass corridor, which stretches from South Kempsey to Frederickton.