Councils join forces to push for $300m for Princes Highway

The newly formed Princes Highway West Action Alliance (PHWAA) includes Warrnambool City Council, Moyne Shire, Corangamite Shire and Colac Otway Shire.

The councils are pushing for the significant sum to upgrade road infrastructure works on Princes Highway West, between Colac and the South Australian border.

The group has independently funded a ‘major review’ of the highway so an accurate assessment of the current state of the road could be amde and key priorities for urgent improvements identified.

It will lobby federal and state governments to fix the 297 kilometre stretch of the key transport corridor.

PHWAA spokesman Scott Cavanagh said a strategy for the highway was long overdue.

It has been 19 years since the last VicRoads plan for the highway was produced.

“Since 2012, we’ve witnessed nine fatalities, 109 people who have suffered serious injuries and many more who have been injured as a result of accidents along this stretch of the highway,” he said.

“Yet, it’s been almost two decades since the formal plan for this section of the highway has been updated and there is no doubt that in many areas it is dangerous and clearly in need of urgent upgrade or rectification works.”

The councils say an estimated $300 million is required over four-years to start improvement works.

“The poor state of this road is creating real and tangible impacts for our communities and must be addressed. The costs both socially and commercially are too significant to be ignored and we believe our communities deserve better,” Mr Cavanagh said.

He said the council group was “delighted” with the state government forming the Regional Roads Victoria which has been charged with delivering the a $941 million regional roads program.

He said PHWAA saw it as a prime opportunity to sit down with newly appointed chief regional roads officer Paul Northey to push the case for funding support.

“We’ll be looking to meet with him as soon as we can,” he said.

The alliance will also look to hold urgent meetings with federal parliamentarians to outline the case for joint funding.

“We anticipate our strategic report will be finalised by the end of 2018 and with that in hand we will be knocking on doors and politely demanding a much better deal for Western Victoria,” Mr Cavanagh said.

“There is no doubt these improvements to Princes Highway West are urgently needed, our communities are suffering and something has to be done.”