The new Ballarat Avenue of Honour overpass was officially unveiled on Sunday to a crowd of more than 400 people.

History repeated itself with the tiny scissors of E Lucas and Co managing director Edward H Price – who lent them to Prince Edward to open the avenue in 1920 – used once again to reopen the roadway, 95 years after its original opening.

This time it was Edward Price’s grandson Bruce Price who witnessed the occasion.

Despite the scissors being smaller than a finger’s length, Senator Michael Ronaldson had no trouble cutting the ribbon to the new multimillion-dollar project.

Senator Ronaldson, who spoke at the ceremony, said the overpass was now a living memorial of the sacrifices made by Ballarat’s men and women during World War I.

“This is a special day for us,” he said.

“Today, we are again honouring the Avenue of Honour. To those from outside the region this might have seemed like just a divided road, but to us it was a road that divided our memory and divided the honour of those who served.

“Now, it is something we can be immensely proud of.”

Nobody was more pleased to see the avenue reconnected than Arch of Victory/Avenue of Honour committee president Bruce Price, who has advocated for the reconnection for more than a decade.

“Despite our best endeavours, the highway went through the avenue ... but it was a good decision because look what has come of it,” he said.

“It is fantastic; it will be a unique overpass in Australia.

“They (The Lucas girls) would have cheered and waved their arms if they had seen this.”

Buninyong’s Heather Tellis was just as impressed with the overpass.

“A lot of thought has gone into it. It’s nice to see so many names so people don’t forget them,” she said.

VicRoads has created the overpass with the aim of maintaining the historical integrity of the avenue, with all components designed to commemorate Ballarat’s World War I servicemen and women.

The new interchange features a landscaped field on either side of the overpass, which has been modelled on the Flanders fields.

The two red retaining walls on each side of the structure have been carefully imprinted to replicate the surface of oak leaves, and panels in the walls contain recessed text displaying cities where battles were fought.

The overpass bridges also contain a leaf design representing each of the region’s servicemen and women who participated in the war, with a red tab commemorating those who lost their lives.

A rest area has been included in the project to allow visitors to view the overpass up close and reflect quietly.

alicia.thomas@fairfaxmedia.com.au