THE City of Ballarat has appointed councillors John Philips and Vicki Coltman to join the Western Highway Action Committee, which represents councils all along the stretch of road.
Cr Philips said he was looking forward to taking on the position, saying the upgraded road was an opportunity for Ballarat to become better connected to the rest of the state.
“We need to work very closely with VicRoads and strengthen all issues along the highway,” he said.
“There are many roadworks still going on regarding the duplication and still a lot of work to be done in Ballarat.”
Cr Philips said he would be pushing for a funding guarantee from the state and federal governments.
“We want to see if we can get that commitment from government but as yet I haven’t made it to a meeting,” he said.
“We need to get the job done properly because it’s a major road, as major as the Hume Highway is up to Sydney.”
Cr Philips said he would be at the next committee meeting in February.
Committee chair and mayor of the Northern Grampians Shire Cr Kevin Erwin said it was crucial for the City of Ballarat to rejoin the committee.
“We supported Ballarat in some of their endeavours and it’s much better to get an ear of government as a group than as an individual council,” he said.
“Certainly in February we’ll be doing some lobbying to lock in a budget timetable (for duplication of the Western Highway between Buangor and Stawell) with the state and federal governments to get that commitment.”