Ballarat's continued westward growth demands upgrades to Dyson Drive in the near future, the city's leaders say, following a virtual meeting with the federal Assistant Treasurer.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Plans for the Ballarat Link Road, an ambitious connection between the Western Freeway and Glenelg Highway, have been around for years - in 2018, the first stage was opened, but stage two is needed urgently, according to City of Ballarat mayor Ben Taylor.
The second stage would connect Remembrance Drive to Carngham Road, providing more capacity on a north-south link through rapidly expanding suburbs.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? HAVE YOUR SAY BELOW
Cr Taylor said this stage of the project would cost about $11.5 million - almost as much as council's entire yearly spend on road works, he added - and council had committed $640,000 for final design works before taking the project to tender, but was waiting for a commitment from the state or federal governments, or both, before beginning that work.
In the meeting, also attended by representatives from Commerce Ballarat, the Committee for Ballarat, and Victorian Senator Sarah Henderson, Cr Taylor directly pitched the project to Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Housing Michael Sukkar.
"This is a project that we could have construction starting in eight months if we get the money now," he said.
"Remembrance Drive to Carngham Road, Dyson Drive, needs to be upgraded to a different standard, it needs to allow service roads to look after existing houses - it's a priority to manage the growth of the city for people to move around."
The sticking point, Cr Taylor said, is that it's a council road, and not under the state government's Regional Roads Victoria jurisdiction.
In a statement, a state government spokesperson said "we're always happy to talk to council about any further improvements that could be made to the Ballarat road network", and reiterated the millions of dollars which had been spent upgrading congested intersections, including building a roundabout at Dyson Drive and Carngham Road, as well as Mair Street, and the city's cycling and pedestrian network.
The Committee for Ballarat's chief executive, Michael Poulton, said the second stage of the project was "critical" for the city's growth.
"We'd be remiss as leaders if we didn't plan for population growth we're trying to encourage," he said.
"If we don't get the short term stuff right, massive damage will occur when you have massive residential and commercial growth without the infrastructure and roads around that."
He said the meeting also touched on calls for the federal government to support a new rail tunnel connecting Sunshine to Southern Cross Station to "unravel" capacity close to the city, which would enable faster trains to Ballarat and Geelong.
Commerce Ballarat chair Nick Thurlbeck also supported the Link Road funding push.
"Everyone around that table fully endorses the need for funding to complete the link road project," he said.
However, he took the opportunity to raise concerns from Ballarat's business community about the federal government's JobKeeper program.
"The topic around JobKeeper, and the ability for employers to retain the amount of JobKeeper staff they have, regardless of whether staff leave and rehire, is really important as they try to trade through this difficult patch," he said.
"For Minister Sukkar and Senator Henderson, they took those comments on board, they were well-received."
In a statement on her website, Senator Henderson said "Minister Sukkar reiterated the Morrison Government's top economic priority has been to keep Australians employed and connected to their employer throughout the pandemic response and stressed that the Morrison Government will take every necessary step to see that as many businesses as possible come out the other side of this global crisis".
"I am very pleased to work with the Ballarat community to advocate for funding for the Link Road which is vital to Ballarat's growth to support jobs and investment opportunities for the future."
Federal Ballarat MP Catherine King also supported calls for Link Road funding.
"Our community is living through the first recession in 30 years, and it is clear that our recovery will have to be driven by greater government investment in our infrastructure," she said in a statement.
IN THE NEWS
"There are projects all across our community that are worthy of investment, whether it be this or other road projects, sporting facilities, rail upgrades or social housing.
"All too often our community seems to be at the bottom of the list when it comes to the funding priorities of Liberal governments.
"I would welcome the Morrison Government supporting this project, or any of the other worthy projects across our region."
If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.
