Sheed calls on Minister for Roads to fund Shepparton Bypass

Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed last week questioned the Minister for Roads and Road Safety regarding infrastructure funding for the Goulburn Valley Highway Bypass.

 “This is one of the four major campaign platforms on which I stood for parliament and the Goulburn Valley Highway Bypass Committee has already identified that it would need approximately $15 – $20 million dollars to commence the early stages of the works.”

“This committee has been lobbying successive governments for years to commit to the construction of a second river crossing taking traffic between the Echuca-Mooroopna Road and the Goulburn Valley Highway,” Ms Sheed said.

 “Currently the only avenue to cross is the Peter Ross-Edwards Causeway and we desperately need a second river crossing over the Goulburn,” she said.

Roads Minister Donnellan said that in 2006 land was set aside for this project and that VicRoads is currently investigating the initial stage to connect the Goulburn Valley Highway to the Echuca –Mooroopna Road including a river crossing. 

The Minister said the bypass was a major piece of infrastructure and the Andrews government will obviously look to the federal government to co-invest.  

In this initial stage “we will move as quickly as we can to seek this initial funding to get this project started.”

 "A commitment to the first stage of the Shepparton Bypass would send a very clear signal that after several decades the project is happening," explained Peter Johnson, Chair of the Goulburn Valley Bypass Committee. "Not only will a second river crossing linked to the Shepparton Alternate Route deliver productivity benefits, it will also assist with the redevelopment plans of the Shepparton CBD."

 

Media contact:                  Ronni Druitt, ronni.druitt@parliament.vic.gov.au 03 5831 6944

 

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