Push to duplicate Warrnambool to Port Fairy on Princes Highway

The other two are the notorious 'blue church' intersection near Pirron Yallock and duplicating the highway between Colac and Camperdown. 

It comes after the Princes Highway West Action Alliance (PHWAA) appointed Traffix Group - a Victorian traffic engineering and transport planning consultancy – to undertake a detailed assessment of upgrade works required for the Colac to Port Fairy section of Princes Highway West. 

The review also highlighted 39 other potential projects.

PHWAA spokesman Scott Cavanagh said it would not come as a surprise to people that the horror corner at the 'blue church' intersection west of Colac was identified as requiring urgent work.

"It’s a known danger zone with a history of accidents and we really need to do something now," he said.

“Along with $5 million needed to upgrade blue church corner, we’re also prioritising the installation of overtaking lanes or ‘2 +1’ infrastructure from Colac to Camperdown with a price tag of $21 million.

“We’re also keen to focus on the installation of overtaking lanes and duplication through Dennington on the Warrnambool to Port Fairy section of the highway with an estimated cost of $60.8 million. The works here will also lay the groundworks for further improvements in the future.”

The 39 projects identified in the Traffix review come with a total funding cost of around $380 million.

“But as we head into the next federal election, we’ve identified the worst of the worst and will be knocking on political doors for support for the urgently needed funding for the top three priorities,” Mr Cavanagh said.

“Tragically nine road fatalities since 2012, scores of serious injuries and too many near misses mean our communities just can’t afford to wait any longer for these works.

“Our politicians need to get the message that we are not going away. This funding support for the hard working communities of the great south coast is long overdue and they deserve better.”

The PHWAA is a joint initiative of Warrnambool City Council, Moyne Shire, Corangamite Shire and Colac Otway Shire. 

It was created after ongoing frustration by the four councils that repeated calls for funding for road infrastructure for the region were being ignored, and that it had been almost two decades since the last VicRoads strategy for the highway had been produced.

A survey conducted by The Standard last year found 96 per cent of respondents said roads were ‘important’ or ‘very important’ issues ahead of the November election.

More than 92 per cent of survey respondents said the roads in the south-west were unsafe. 

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