$106M DRYSDALE BYPASS HITS A POTHOLE:

Panel recommends lights instead of roundabout

SEVERAL key aspects of the $106 million Drysdale bypass are back to the drawing board after an independent review exposed issues with the proposal.

VicRoads has been urged to re-examine the design of the junction of the bypass with Grubb Rd and High St, which has been described as the most critical intersection of the new 6km route.

A government-appointed planning panel criticised the proposed roundabout at the western entrance to the bypass, finding that traffic lights would operate better and be safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

It called for VicRoads to review the intersection and take into account an expanding school population and the growing sports and cultural precinct.

“Despite the fact that the bypass route was identified as early as the late 1970s, not much thought appears to have been given to the location/ design of the school precinct,” the panel’s report reads.

“The current road network results in fairly constrained vehicular access, which is not improved by construction of the bypass.”

The panel also rejected the move to cut off eastbound traf- fic’s access from Geelong-Portarlington road into Jetty Rd.

“There would be some travel time savings and access advantages by providing a left slip lane on to Jetty Rd, and (we) can see no strong reasons for not providing the link,” it said.

Other recommendations for further work to be done by VicRoads and council include: DETERMINING whether a realigned Railway Cres would provide an acceptable alternative to the proposed alignment. REVIEWING the design of the bypass/Princess St intersection to see if the amount of required land can be reduced.

VicRoads southwestern regional director Mark Koliba said further work had started on the project, which was funded by the State Government in 2014.

“On my request, the Drysdale bypass project team is now undertaking the recommended further investigations as a matter of priority,” Mr Koliba said. “Once the project team has completed its further investigations, the planning authority will compile a final report and forward this to the Minister for Planning for review and endorsement.”

The bypass is expected to remove about 50 per cent of traffic from High St, including a large number of trucks from Drysdale’s central district.