Western Victorian MP Simon Ramsay is the latest to pressure the state government to commit to vital roadworks at Bacchus Marsh.
The upper house politician urged the government to commit to on and off ramps at the Western Freeway and to improve Halletts Way.
“The poor old Moorabool shire has been waiting for the government to commit to funding to the project, to allow tenders to go out for works to be completed,” Mr Ramsay said in a speech to Parliament last month.
“My request for urgent action by the Minister for Roads and Road Safety is that he free up the $35 million sitting in the VicRoads budget to allow the traffic management plan, which will allow the increased traffic flow.”
The road works were promised by the Brumby government and stalled by the Baillieu-Napthine and Andrews governments.
Moorabool council and Bacchus Marsh residents have been lobbying the state government and Mr Ramsay to get a move on.
Time to invest
Speaking to Star Weekly, Mr Ramsay said now was the time to invest money in the oft-neglected town and commit to finishing the four-stage project.
“There is a degree of frustration that we haven’t progressed the final stages of [the project], which was also about removing heavy trucks from the centre of the town,” he said.
“I’ve been working on this issue for five years now, since I’ve been in Parliament.”
When asked why the former Liberal government didn’t commit to the project during its four-year term, Mr Ramsay said a number of issues had arisen.
“As part of the planning of the Woolpacks Road project, it was indicated that we’d have to move a number of the elm trees along the Avenue of Honour to progress the roundabout in Woolpacks Road,” he said.
“The removing of the elm trees was causing a lot of community concerns. We looked at different ways to remove a minimum number of trees and settled that only four trees could be removed.
“Because of still ongoing community concern, it was decided we rehash and provide another traffic management plan.”
He said by the time that was done, the Liberals had lost government.
Mr Ramsay said $35 million to cover the cost of the project had been budgeted by the state government and should be freed up.
A spokeswoman for Roads Minister Luke Donnellan said the state government was negotiating with the federal government to complete the project.
“Simon Ramsay had four years to finish these works. If he was serious, why didn’t he and the former Liberal government get on with building the projects that Bacchus Marsh needs?”
