GEELONG RING ROAD LINKS NOW IN PLACE

From the time of the hearing by the independent panel of submissions on the route of the southern section of the Geelong ring road at Waurn Ponds, in November 2005, the Chamber was very concerned that the final route chosen by the panel would pose real traffic problems for the area.

Because the $386 million funding for the ring road would only take it to the Princes Highway at Waurn Ponds, through traffic was likely to be spilled direct to the highway through a signalised T-intersection which would cause huge traffic hold-ups and delays until the extra funding for the future high-speed extension was found and these works carried out.

The Chamber believed that this would be the worst outcome for the south-western areas of Geelong and, even if later extended as proposed, would be a poor traffic solution compared to the original route behind Deakin University’s Waurn Ponds campus to connect with Princes Highway at Cochranes Road with a future connection to the Armstrong Creek growth area and the SurfCoast Highway.

However, VicRoads argued that this option would be less attractive to intra-Geelong users and they would not make the shift to the ring road. This would result in a significant drop-off meaning much more traffic staying on Latrobe Terrace and negating the ring road’s advantage to some degree. But this was refuted by independent traffic observers.

With the announcement by, then, Premier Bracks prior to the 2006 Victorian elections that funding for the ring road extension along Anglesea Road would be included in the 2007 state budget, and matching funding would be urgently sought from the Federal government, the Chamber was feeling a lot more positive about the ring road’s capability to deal with really busy traffic wanting to access the Armstrong Creek growth area, the Surf Coast and the Great Ocean Road.

This would have meant that only through traffic to Colac and the western district would need to make the right-turn along the Princes Highway through the Waurn Ponds Valley.

Now that Premier Brumby has funded the ring road link from Anglesea Road to the highway across the old quarry in Hams Road, a high speed connection will be available in both directions and the residents in Waurn Ponds Valley will be spared the inconvenience of accidents and noise along this very busy section of the highway.

The other good news is that the Rudd government will match funding on both of these remaining sections in time for them to be completed shortly after the current three stages are operational.

The Chamber has been an active promoter of a ring road for Geelong for nearly sixty years and strongly pushed for the first ring road corridor in the original Geelong Planning Scheme which was not that dissimilar to the proposed alignment of the outer freeway and the new ring road, both of which the Chamber fully supported at the time.

The Chamber now looks forward to the completion of the ring road and the benefits that it will bring to Geelong and the region.

Lawrie Miller

Executive Director