Donnellan says fixing unsafe and deteriorating roads will improve freight movement
The Victorian government has committed to spend $40 million to upgrade narrow roads and an additional $10 million to maintain regional roads in south-west Victoria.
Announcing the investment last week, roads and road safety minister Luke Donnellan said the $40 million funding will see repairs and widening of at least 40 kilometres of arterial roads that are generally viewed as too narrow for two-way traffic.
The first leg of the project will see works carried out at: Myamyn-Macarthur and Foxhow Roads, Hamilton, Hopkins, Glenelg Highways, and certain roads closer to Geelong including Bellarine Highway and Geelong-Ballan Road.
Other upgrades include road reconstruction and resurfacing, widening and sealing shoulders, with construction expected to begin before the end of the year.
“The southwest has experienced a rapid increase in heavy vehicle movements, with the increase in heavy traffic through new industries such as forestry, wind farms and mineral sands, and increases in dairy production,” the government states.
“This funding will mean that a number of unsafe and deteriorating roads across south-western Victoria will be fixed, benefitting the local community, freight vehicles and tourist traffic,” Donnellan says.
The new funding is in addition to $44.4 million for resurfacing and reconstruction work announced in August last year.