The road, which is located to the north of the station precinct, will become one of the key access points to the space when the new $5 million bus interchange is installed.

The road has already seen a dramatic increase in bus traffic following the change to the local bus timetable in January this year, which sees 14 bus routes stop at the temporary interchange on Lydiard Street North. 

As well as the boost to bus traffic, the road will also see a major increase to traffic with the creation of a new 405-space car park, which will be accessed through Nolan Street.

Rebecca McKinnon, who lives near the intersection of Nolan and Neill streets, said the current traffic conditions along the road were the worst they had been in more than 30 years living in the area. 

“You’ll have to block off Neill Street, because (entering Nolan St is) just too dangerous,” Ms McKinnon said.  “This used to be a really quiet stretch of road but now it’s just hectic.” 

The City of Ballarat 2014 Ballarat Station Master Plan stated that upgrades would need to occur along Nolan Street to cope with the additional traffic load, however neither council or the state government have offered any further details since.   

The bulk of commuters accessing parking currently enter the precinct via Lydiard Street and a new internal road will allow vehicles to continue to come in off both roads.

Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, Western Victorian MP Joshua Morris said Nolan Street would handle up to 50 bus movements an hour when the new interchange was complete.  The street currently handles 315 bus trips a day. 

“At the moment people are using Lydiard and Nolan streets, but you’re going to have every commuter, the hotel patrons as well as all of the urban and regional buses using Nolan Street,” Mr Morris said.

A government spokesperson said the number of buses which will use the interchange will be established through a detailed design process, which has begun.

“This work will look at the infrastructure required for the new interchange and what traffic changes and improvements are needed as a result,” the spokesperson said.  “More information will be provided as this work progresses.”