At the August council meeting, Campaspe Shire Council approved the application to submit a grant under the Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program for two roads in the shire.
Two Tree Rd in Stanhope and Davis Rd in Gunbower were the targets of the application, with a bridge upgrade along Two Tree Rd also on the books due to what council describes as having “limited remaining useful” life.
Along with the approval of the application came a council contribution of $986,000 for works on Two Tree Rd and $780,000 for works on Davis Rd.
Council officers estimate the value of upgrades to these roads is $9.1 million and, according to Cr Jarman, the grant is necessary.
Cr Jarman said the main driver for putting this application forward was damage to Davis Rd which has seen an increase in traffic as the only heavy vehicle access route to Patho landfill.
Similarly, Two Tree Rd is the only route for heavy vehicle access to the Biomix site.
“Those are the victims in many ways in our shire of where society has gone for us to meet our obligations in organic waste and landfill,” Cr Jarman said.
”If anyone’s ever driven on these roads … it is a victim of our environmental policies that don’t always line up with our infrastructure.“
Western Ward councillor Leanne Pentreath said the approval of the application “was a no-brainer”.
“These two roads, (council) officers have tried to hand them over to the state government — they won’t take them on,” she said.
Both roads were damaged by overland flooding during the October 2022 floods and the site was not accessible for a month.
In the past five years, the council have spent $94,000 on Davis Rd and $84,600 on Two Tree Rd with general maintenance.
Stanhope development committee chair Glenda Cowie said Two Tree Rd was not a busy road, with only two residential properties situated along it.
She said it would not affect things much for residents, but it would save council money in the long run.
With applications now approved, council will put forward two applications for each road before the grant window closes on September 30.
If the grant application is successful, the project must be completed within 36 months.
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