Big projects are on the 2019 budget agenda and the latest sweetener for Victoria is a $360 million commitment to the complete the project between Ararat and Stawell.
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The overall highway duplication plan between Ballarat and Stawell has been in place for a number of years, with significant delays of the duplication between Buangor and Ararat slowing the project's progress.
Activists have established camps at multiple sites along the highway at Buangor protesting the duplication, arguing the cultural significance to the aboriginal community should prevent the duplication from moving through.
Northern Grampians Shire mayor Kevin Erwin said the duplication has been a long time coming.
"It has been a long hard haul, and it hasn't gone too far in last few years. The project was supposed to be completed in 2016 with original plans from 1998 so any money to get it back on track we are grateful for," he said.
"It will certainly have a big impact on safety. The road hasn't had the best safety record over the last few years with quite a few deaths between Stawell and Ararat."
Wannon MP Dan Tehan said the upgrade is crucial with the amount of traffic - particularly freight traffic to South Australia - on the stretch of road continually increasing.
"More than 6000 vehicles travel the Western Highway west of Ballarat each day, including 1500 trucks - and the expected doubling of those traffic figures by 2025 makes the completion of the upgrade absolutely vital," Mr Tehan said.
Mallee Liberal candidate Serge Petrovich said duplication between Ballarat and Ararat is expected to be complete by mid-2020.
The duplication project underway near Dobie, east of Ararat is still being stalled by protests.
This section, the last of the freeway works between Beaufort and Ararat has been dogged by controversy, most recently with the planned removal of what some claim are culturally significant trees to the indigenous people.
Last month the project was halted pending a court hearing on April 15 deciding how it should proceed.
Bypasses of Beaufort and Ararat are being planned by Vicroads but neither project has fully committed funding.