General News
5 August, 2025
Western Highway back on the priority list
The Western Highway was back on the Horsham Rural City Council's agenda at its July meeting, with the highest priority being an alignment for the Western Highway bypass of Horsham.
While a bypass around Horsham has been on the agenda for decades, the council has made a strong pitch to the new strategy by the Western Highway Action Committee for a bypass or truck route alignment for Horsham with ring road links to the Wimmera and Henty Highways around the perimeter of the Horsham urban area.
Increased traffic from mining and renewable projects across the Wimmera has already been documented in the project's forecasts, and in addition to new manufacturing and industry in the planning stages in Horsham, it is reasonable to predict that roads will be subjected to greater usage.
Cr Brian Klowss said he thought the paper detailing HRCC's priorities was a good starting point.
While they were all important points, the bypass should be a priority to alleviate traffic congestion in Horsham.
"I think if neither the state or federal governments are going to do anything about it, council needs to have a plan in place," he said.
"At the very least, it would be a good advocacy document.
"For example, we have master plans on the table, including the Haven one, and we need to address the potential for increased traffic in the future as the region grows.
"We need to have a plan so that in the event of a worst-case scenario, that state or federal governments don't do anything about it, we have it ready. We need to look at the big picture going forward."
The council identified the Stawell Road roundabout in Horsham as needing immediate attention, where Vic Roads estimates at least 12 serious crashes have occurred in the past year.
Plans are scheduled for work to begin on the roundabout according to VicRoads.
Identified also were safety issues surrounding the Western Highway in the proximity of the Wail overpass, pedestrian safety in Pimpinio and Dadswell Bridge, the Tarara roadhouse east of Ararat, and speed limits through urban areas reduced to 50km/h from 60km/h and increased length of speed zones in urban areas.
Areas of congestion in Horsham and the need for a truck parking and a decoupling area in Horsham are also in the council's plans for consideration.
Discussions included long-term strategies, short-term priorities, and safety issues, as well as identifying what responsibilities the State Government should be undertaking, including road dips where pavement has moved, timely repairs to wire rope safety barriers, and maintenance of amenities at road stops and rest areas.
Long-term strategies include duplicating the Western Highway to the SA border, initially to Stawell, with the implementation of bypasses on duplicated sections of the highway.
The upgrade is not limited to roads, with the return of rail to Horsham and equitable access arrangements for freight on rail also under discussion.
The council has also considered relieving congestion by upgrading to full freeway standards and including townships' bypasses from Melbourne through to Ararat, a short-term solution to many of the highway issues.
The HRCC is one of 10 councils between Melton and West Wimmera that make up the Western Highway Action Committee, advocating for improvements to the Western Highway between Melbourne and the South Australian border.
The committee has been in operation since 1999 and plays a key role in advocating to Victorian and South Australian governments on priorities for this highway, and is preparing a new advocacy strategy; the HRCC is taking part in the input on what is a priority for its municipality.
It is now preparing an updated strategy so that it can establish the priorities of member Councils for a coordinated voice to the Government about the community's further priorities for the highway.
The committee gains regular input from the Department of Transport and Planning and Major Road Projects Victoria; however, the Committee and its member Councils would own the strategy, not those government agencies.
The strategy is proposed to be completed in 2025.
The development of a common set of priorities, shared by ten Councils, carries much weight in representations to Government.
The council endorsed the set of advocacy priorities in the agenda for inclusion in the Western Highway Action Committee advocacy strategy, moved by Cr Klowss and seconded by Cr Cam McDonald.
Funding is not usually sought every year from councils, but a contribution of $3500 has been requested for 2025-26 based on the municipality's population.