Acting Prime Minister and Member for New England Barnaby Joyce said investigations on Thursday showed the “complexities of the major engineering project”.

“We’ve gone through core samples on the path of the bypass and what we have seen is, unsurprisingly, coal at down around 30 metres,” he said.

“What this means is that the structure, as it sits on pylons, has to be able to get a friction from the soil around it because it’s unlikely to be sitting down on granite.

“So this is one of the complexities of getting what will be a major engineering project into Scone.”

Other representatives who joined Mr Joyce included Upper Hunter MP Michael Johnsen, Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) regional manager Anna Zycki and Upper Hunter Shire Council’s Waid Crockett and Wayne Bedggood.

Mr Joyce said the investigations were proof that there would be no “mucking about” with the bypass.

“Being here with Michael Johnsen [shows] that this has really started,” he said.

“This is a $120 million project and is no longer a figment of people’s imaginations.

“My job is to work with Michael and make sure that all the funds are available.”

Ms Zycki added that the RMS had “a lot to achieve” in the next 12 months.

“The investigations that we’re doing here, the geo-technical and others, are all being done as part of the process,” she said.

“The design [of the bypass] is progressing well, I’m very happy with how that is all moving ahead.

“We should see some more activity over the next few months as we do more investigations.

“A lot of it is design work; we’ll be coming back to council and keeping them up-to-date on a regular basis on the work that we’re doing.”