THE Department of Transport says $4 million of works on the Cobden-Terang Road are part of 245km of roads being repaired around the region.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news
across the nation
or signup to continue reading
The road at Dixie has been closed since mid-April with diversions in place for people travelling from Cobden to Terang, and it's expected the work will be completed by mid-year.
More than $20 million has been set aside to repair roads damaged by floods and extreme rainfall in the south-west.
READ MORE:
Corangamite Shire Mayor Ruth Gstrein said she'd had complaints from ratepayers about the Cobden-Terang Road and it was good that residents' concerns had been heard and it was being repaired.
She said residents were also calling for Mackinnons Bridge Road at Noorat to be upgraded.
She said an example was the Darlington Road which was a major north-south link in the shire but there was about 12km where the road was a single lane.
"That gets a lot of grain trucks and school buses as well as a lot of locals using it," she said.
Cr Gstrein said the Dairy Supply Chain Study was an evidence backed document which showed $310.5 million was needed over 10 years to upgrade south-west Victoria's arterial road network to be fit for purpose for dairy traffic.
"That's not just road surfaces, it's culverts, bridges, drains and those sorts of things and we're doing a Grain Supply Chain Study because we're seeing a lot of grain in the northern part of the shire and the impact the harvest has on the roads," she said.
READ MORE:
Department of Transport and Planning acting regional director for Barwon South West Liam Butcher said crews were busy delivering strong, safe and reliable roads that "we know are key to connected regional communities, a thriving tourism industry and an efficient freight network".
The repair works are part of $77 million of works being carried out in the south-west which includes bridge upgrades, overtaking lanes and pavement upgrades.
The state and federal governments have also set aside $140 million for works along the Princes Highway, with construction works having begun for Yambuk overtaking lanes and the bridge structure over the Moyne River in Rosebrook.
