By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
COMMUNITY groups will lobby politicians to support an extension of Geelong’s ring road to the Bellarine Peninsula.
Drysdale/Clifton Springs Community Association spokesperson Doug Carson said the project had widespread support around the peninsula.
“It’s a marginal seat here, so with federal and state elections coming up we’re going to be hammering politicians for their support,” Mr Carson said.
The Independent revealed last month a $300,000 VicRoads study found the extension was feasible.
The link would connect Portarlington Rd to the ring road’s stage 4C Surf Coast Hwy extension.
Mr Carson said the Portalington Rd link would benefit tourism on the peninsula with easier access.
“We could more actively promote our tourism with a better feed road. If the Portarlington safe harbour goes ahead we’ll need the roads to carry the traffic it will generate.
“Anything to allow people to get down here in a better state is all for the good. All the wineries, restaurants and similar businesses would all support traffic coming in easier.”
Mr Carson said the extension would also save time and money for commuters and ease congestion at Drysdale’s Portarlington-Geelong Rd roundabout.
“It would get lots of heavy traffic out of residential areas and out of central Geelong. The Bellarine has a lot of truck traffic and the only way through is the centre of Geelong.”
But Public Transport Users’ Association said VicRoads had rated the peninsula link lowly during earlier investigations of Geelong’s bypass.
“The proposed extension of 4C (to Portarlington Rd) takes the east-west road through the floodplain of the lower Barwon River, which has questionable environmental consequences,” he said.
“The proposed road is also almost exactly double the distance of the existing highway route through Geelong between Moolap Station Rd and the railway overpass at Corio.”
Mr Westcott said 4C was proposed as a feeder road for Armstrong Creek, with up to five sets of traffic lights and a probable speed limit of 60km/h.
“Yet either side there would be either freeway or arterial road with a speed limit of 80. There will be pressure on 4C to become an arterial road or a freeway to match, which creates an artificial bottleneck.”
