Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester says a Coalition Government will provide $5 million to work with the Victorian Government to finalise the design and costings for the proposed Traralgon by-pass.
Mr Chester says he will continue to work with the community and local councils to lobby the state and federal governments to commit funding for the consultation, detailed design and eventual construction of the proposed Traralgon bypass, if he wins the election on May 3.
“We need to see some money on the table to get this project moving. This is an issue which has been talked about for more than 30 years, while the congestion and safety issues continue to increase in Traralgon,” Mr Chester said.
“With the duplication of the Princes Highway between Traralgon and Sale completed, the by-pass is the highest priority road transport project in Gippsland over the next decade. The highway duplication work received 80% of its funding from the Commonwealth and 20% from the State Government, which is why I intend to target both levels of government to finally see some action as part of the budget processes.”
In 2009, the Latrobe Planning Scheme formalised a route for a proposed Traralgon bypass in consultation with key stakeholders, including local government, small businesses, the freight industry, landowners and the community.
Identified as a future priority project to remove heavy vehicles and passing traffic from the increasingly busy Traralgon town centre, the bypass would also provide a safe and efficient link for Gippsland’s growing communities and boost the visitor economy.
The previous Coalition Government allocated $300 million to the Princes Highway corridor in Victoria and funded projects like this to improve safety and productivity.
“The Andrews-Allan Labor Governments in Victoria have stone-walled the by-pass project and keep making excuses for their abysmal lack of progress,” Mr Chester said.
“A commitment of $5 million from an incoming Coalition Government will kick-start the process of design, consultation and final costings.
“Despite Regional Roads Victoria undertaking a planning study for the bypass on behalf of the Victorian Government between 2017-18, the project remains on hold.
“Without a concerted effort by the wider Gippsland and Latrobe Valley community, we have no confidence in the current state and federal Labor governments to provide a funding commitment to this project.
“I have received strong feedback from local residents, business owners, transport operators and local councils that a by-pass will deliver long-term social and economic benefits for the entire region.”
