The Nationals Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland MP, has committed to building the Kilmore Bypass if a Liberal and Nationals Government is elected next month.
Kilmore is growing rapidly, but heavy trucks are still being forced through the heart of the town, putting pressure on Sydney Street and the businesses and community that rely on it.
A Liberal and Nationals Government will secure the land and complete the business case needed to get the Kilmore Bypass moving towards construction.
“Kilmore cannot keep waiting for another promise about a bypass,” Ms Cleeland said.
“For more than a decade, Kilmore has been promised action and delivered delay.
“The Liberal and Nationals Government had funding on the table to get this project moving before leaving office in 2014. When Labor came to government, that funding and commitment did not translate into a bypass. The project was pushed aside and Kilmore was left waiting.
“Since then, we have seen year after year of announcements, reviews and empty promises while not a single truck has been moved off Sydney Street.
“Ten years of disappointment is enough.
“The population of Kilmore and Kilmore East is projected to more than double by 2046, yet the infrastructure needed to support that growth has not kept pace.”
The Kilmore Bypass has been investigated for years, with the preferred route established and previous Liberal-Nationals governments committing funding towards the project. Despite this, the project remains unfinished.
“Labor has had more than a decade to get this done,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Instead, the people of Kilmore have been given another promise, another delay and another reason to wait.
“That is not good enough for a town that is carrying thousands of heavy vehicles through its centre while it continues to grow.
“For the first time in a decade, there is now a genuine pathway to construction, with a clear commitment to secure the land and complete the business case.
“This is not another vague promise to look at the bypass. It is the work needed to actually get the project moving.”
Mitchell Shire Council has previously said the bypass would ease congestion, improve safety and amenity in the town centre, support more efficient freight movement and help revitalise Kilmore’s historic heart.
“People are sick of sitting behind trucks just trying to get through town,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Local businesses are paying the price, pedestrians are navigating an increasingly difficult main street and Kilmore’s historic centre is being squeezed by traffic.
“We need to get the trucks out of Sydney Street and give this growing town the infrastructure it needs to thrive.
“Secure the land. Complete the business case. Get the project ready for construction. Those are the steps that have been missing for the past decade.”
Leader of The Nationals, Danny O’Brien said the commitment will be backed by the Liberal and Nationals’ Fair Share Guarantee, locking in 25 per cent of new State infrastructure investment for regional Victoria.
“For too long, regional communities have been told to wait while infrastructure investment flows elsewhere,” Mr O’Brien said.
“Our Fair Share Guarantee will make sure regional Victoria gets a fair share of new infrastructure investment.
“Kilmore has waited long enough, and I will not accept another decade of excuses.
“Only a Liberal and Nationals Government will deliver the Kilmore Bypass.”
