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Residents of Rutherglen are still waiting for an answer on the final heavy vehicle alternate route despite almost eight months passing since Regional Roads Victoria (RRV) conducted a survey to investigate the three options available.
The contentious issue has dragged on for more than 50 years, with many residents fearing that the topic will still be in discussion in 10 years’ time.
According to RRV, the third phase of community consultation, which explored final route options with Indigo Shire Council, was based on considerations of safety, network efficiency and impacts on residents and the community. The survey was not a vote, but rather an opportunity for the community to provide feedback.
The three final routes selected were as follows.
• Route 1 - An improved Main Street (Murray Valley Highway)
• Route 2 - Douglas, Reid and Scott streets • Route 3 - Up River Road and Gooramadda Road.
In 2017 the Victorian and Australian governments jointly funded the $4 million Rutherglen Heavy Vehicle Route project in response to community concerns on safety and traffic flow through the town centre caused by heavy traffic on Main Street (Murray Valley Highway).
Following the funding, an Origin and Destination study was undertaken, set to be the final planning study before works could get under way or an appropriate route could be determined.
The feedback from the study suggested most people felt unsafe using Main Street and that heavy vehicles have an impact on the look and feel of the town centre.
The feedback also indicated strong support for Regional Roads Victoria to investigate a heavy vehicle route and provided valuable feedback on roads within the existing network to consider, leading to the September 2020 survey.
While the push to get heavy vehicles off Main Street is widely supported by the Rutherglen community, many residents, including those along Gooramadda and Up River Road, claim that moving trucks to a different road won’t solve the issue.
Elva Stones and her family have lived on Up River Road for more than 30 years. While Ms Stones agrees heavy vehicles frequenting Main Street is frustrating, she firmly believes Gooramadda/Up River Road is not the solution.
“The engineers and experts have dismissed our road every time a study is done and yet it’s dragged up again and again,” Ms Stones told The Free Press,
“There is the Murray Valley Highway and the Riverina Highway. They are all going to the same destination. Why do we need a third one when there are already two purpose-built roads?
“It’s a back road and people treat it without any respect. I feel safer on the Murray Valley Highway because people know that police frequent that road. There just seems to be a totally different mindset on the Murray Valley Highway compared to our road.”
Ms Stones said safety was the biggest concern with Gooramadda/Up River Road being a work environment.
“We are regularly moving stock across road. There’s cattle, sheep and slow-moving heavy machinery,” she said.
“There’s no signage in place for people who use the road. It’s our responsibility to put signs and flashing lights out. We have to physically put our bodies on the line, get out on the road, wave flags a to try and get people to stop.
“Often people will just ignore us, go around us, toot and give us the bird.”
Rob Whyte of Gooramadda Olives agrees with Ms Stones about the dangers along Gooramadda/Up River Road.
“There are people in Rutherglen who don’t understand the volume of traffic this road already takes,” he said.
“Our customers who come to see us and feel rather intimidated by trucks using the road. People have frequently told us they have driven straight by because of the fear of trucks being hot on their heels and if they turn into our driveway, there will be an accident.
“It got to the point where we had our driveway sealed last year and went to the extra expense of having a small slip lane to accommodate our safety as well as our customers.
“We are seeing accidents and fatalities on the road. It’s not designed for this and it’s not the solution. Putting more trucks on Up River Road, may solve things a little bit for Main Street, but it won’t solve everything”
Business owners along Main Street also have mixed opinions on the issue. Nick Hawtin, owner of Caffeine N Machine café said he was not against trucks being removed from Main Street but is more concerned about the safety of road users in terms of speed.
“What I’d like to see is traffic slowing down. People shouldn’t just be concerned with the trucks. Cars are the main culprit for speeding down the main street,” Mr Hawtin said.
“We need a roundabout down the other end of the Murray Valley Highway where De Bortoli’s is. I’m all about slowing things down to make it safer for everyone.
Long-time reroute campaigner and Indigo Shire Councillor Roberta Horne continues to be a strong leader in the push for a suitable heavy vehicle route away from Rutherglen’s Main Street.
She said it was encouraging to see RRV’s recent re-surfacing work being carried out on Main Street in response to concerns expressed by locals and visitors.
“Safety is, of course, the primary concern and this is definitely a positive move in improving the ongoing situation for all road users,” she said.
“The new surface is certainly a dramatic improvement and there have been lots of comments about the changed traffic conditions and great interest in the roadmaking process.”
In a statement from Regional Director (Hume), Department of Transport’s Steve Bowmaker, he expressed his appreciation for the Rutherglen community for their patience.
“We thank the Rutherglen community for sharing feedback about safety and traffic flow in Main Street as part of our Heavy Vehicle Route planning study,” he said.
“We have finished the third phase of community consultation and are now exploring final route options with Indigo Shire Council.”