More people will die on roads west of Ballarat unless governments of all levels commit to rapid and significant improvements, a resident has said, after witnessing a heart-stopping near-miss.
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Last week, Colin Watson was driving north on the Windermere-Haddon Road towards Ballarat-Carngham Road - near Kopkes Road, he approached a bend in the road.
"I was coming across, about 200 metres behind a car travelling north," he said.
"A gravel truck with a dog trailer came around, the truck was within its area of the white line on its half of the road, but as it was going around the bend, the trailer went about 18 inches across the white line - the car travelling north had to take evasive action and go out onto the grass to avoid it.
"My heart was in my mouth, I thought something drastic's going to happen here."
He said he was reminded of an incident five years ago, when a swinging trailer killed a driver near Coleraine.
The issue, Mr Watson said, is that roads to Ballarat's west - like Finchs Road, Whites Road, and the Windermere-Haddon Road - are getting more traffic than they are designed to take.
It's a combination of issues, ranging from increased construction traffic to new developments, more livestock trucks heading to the new Miners Rest livestock exchange, and residents avoiding multiple roadworks sites.
"I've been living here about 25 years - I've seen it deteriorating, the potholes in the middle of the road, but mainly the shoulder where the bitumen meets the gravel," Mr Watson said.
"I've been involved in the harness racing industry, and I know people from Colac heading to the Moonee Valley trots don't go to Geelong, they go this way on this road up to the Western Freeway, it's taking a lot more traffic."
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Early works are getting started at the corner of Dyson Drive and Ballarat-Carngham Road, for a new roundabout as part of the state government's $60 million Keeping Ballarat Moving project.
There are fears the extra roadworks in the area will encourage more locals onto roads not designed for heavy traffic, which would force councils to complete more maintenance.
Last month, the City of Ballarat said it would work with Regional Roads Victoria during roundabout construction if detours are required.
There have been improvements in the meantime - a new roundabout was built on Cuthberts Road at Whites Road, and there are plans for another roundabout at Remembrance Drive and Madden Road - but Mr Watson said he was worried there would be more crashes.
"It's not a Black Spot now because no-one's been killed there," he said.
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