Liam McNally
Moorabool council is calling on Roads and Road Safety Minister Melissa Horne to attend the next Western Highway Action Committee (WHAC) meeting on August 25.
The WHAC meets monthly to discuss safety issues along the Western Highway and comprises council representatives from Melton, Moorabool and eight other areas that lie along the Western Highway between Melbourne and the South Australian border.
Ms Horne has been invited to attend the next meeting to hear concerns from the ten councils.
However, her office has confirmed the minister is unavailable due to a prior commitment in Adelaide on the same day
Moorabool mayor Rod Ward is on the committee and said the vision of the participating councils was for a safe, efficient Western Highway, linking Melbourne, Adelaide and the regional centres along the route.
“We have many concerns about parts of the highway, including some very serious safety concerns, and we’re hoping to relay these to Minister Horne in the hope the federal and state governments can take action and improve the quality of the highway,” he said.
“We meet monthly and work together to achieve upgrades to the Western Highway/Freeway and address issues of safety, transport efficiency and amenity.
“The highway links two major capital cities in Australia and has cities and towns along the way, so is highly populated by heavy transport and general travellers. It’s so important to attract government investment to achieve the goals of the committee to ensure a high quality and safe highway.”
According to the state government approximately 86,000 vehicles travel the stretch of the Western Highway between Melton and Caroline Springs each day, with this figure expected to rise to approximately 113,000 by 2031.
For this area of the highway, Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV) is investigating potential options for additional lanes, new and upgraded interchanges and overpasses and upgraded walking and cycling paths.
The ten councils represented at the committee meeting are Melton, Moorabool, Ballarat, Pyrenees, Ararat, Northern Grampians, Horsham, Hindmarsh, Yarriambiack and West Wimmera.
