Corangamite welcomes $80M road funding as a good start

Published on 20 March 2019

Corangamite Shire Council has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement of $80 million in funding for roads of strategic importance as a good start.

After the announcement by Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack and Member for Wannon Dan Tehan on Monday, Mayor Neil Trotter said work was desperately needed on the Princes Highway across the region to ensure the safety of our residents and visitors and the security of our agricultural industry.

“The Princes Highway is the transport backbone for our agricultural industries and while we don’t yet have any definitive information about where the $80 million will be spent, any improvement to the deteriorating infrastructure is welcome,” Cr Trotter said.

“Inclusion of the Princes Highway West in the Federal Roads of Strategic Importance initiative will help connect our primary producers and manufacturers with ports, airports and other transport hubs, as well as improving safety for locals and the massive number of visitors who use the Great Ocean Road and North South Loop.”

Cr Trotter said the Princes Highway was a vital thoroughfare for the Great South Coast region’s $1.8 billion agriculture sector which produces a third of Victoria’s beef, a third of its dairy, a third of its lamb and a quarter of its wool.  

“The recent Barwon South West Dairy Supply Chain Study identified there is between 2.5 million and 3.4 million tonnes of produce moving along this corridor each year,” he said.

“Upgrading the infrastructure to support our industry’s supply chain is vital for keeping our farmers competitive. 

“This funding is a good start, but total investment just to improve the structural condition of the road and bridges to support our freight task on the Highway is nearly $150 million.

“The Princes Highway West Action Alliance has identified $86 million of priority upgrades around passing opportunities and safety improvements for road users, so we echo the Commonwealth’s call for the Victorian Government to match the funding to get these priority projects completed.

“In Corangamite Shire we need more overtaking lanes or a 2+1 lane system between Colac and Camperdown, as a bare minimum. 

“This has been identified as a key priority, at $21 million, along with $5 million for the high-accident Blue Church Intersection at Timboon-Colac Road at Nalangil.

“The stretch through the Stony Rises near the Cobden-Stonyford Road intersection is also a high accident area, with a lot of turns and not many passing opportunities. It’s going to be expensive to fix because it’s all rock through there, but it needs to be done for the safety of our residents and other road users.”