Documents released by Ballarat City Council this week show Dyson Drive will instead become a Ballarat West Growth Zone service lane from Sturt Street until near Bells Road.

Residents affected by the development have reacted angrily to the plans, with one home owner living near Dyson Drive, Daniel Forbes, calling for the road to be pushed further away from existing homes.

“The main concern from the people I have spoken to is that it is just so close to these homes and with all the land they’ve got I don’t understand why they won’t move it back an extra 100 metres,” he said.

“They could let people who want to live on a freeway do that and leave the homes already here as they are.”

Mr Forbes was one of dozens of residents who attended a City of Ballarat and VicRoads information session to view the plans this week.

A Ballarat-Ararat railway overpass near Ring Road will also be a key feature of the project.

As well, Blind Creek Road will be re-aligned to provide an east-west connection with Gregory Street at Ring Road.

Traffic lights will also be installed at the intersection of Remembrance Drive and Dyson Drive and a combined wildlife and drainage crossing set up for Winter Swamp.

An information session outlining stage one’s main features was held at the Ballarat Golf Club this week, attended by about 100 people.

Ballarat City Councillor Noel Perry said the session was about clarifying what was involved in stage one of the project.

“There seems to be some misunderstanding that Dyson Drive will be part of the next stage,” Cr Perry said. “But that will eventually become a service lane opposite the Ballarat West Growth Zone and Lucas. People seemed reasonably comfortable with that.”

He also said the reopening of Gregory Street West as part of the Blind Creek Road realignment would be critical to take the pressure off Sturt Street.

Stage one of the Ballarat Western Link Road will be 4.2 kilometres long and should be completed by November 2014. It will provide an alternative route to Ring Road to reduce congestion and the dangers of boom gate-controlled level crossings.

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