$1 billion pledged for Western Highway upgrades a long time coming

Work on the Western Highway between Buangor and Ararat will begin before the end of the year, as the infamous “death stretch” looks set to be the focus of a large funding announcement from the state government.

❓What happened: This week Catherine King, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, and Regional Development  announced works to duplicate portions of the Western Highway were going ahead after funds totalling over $1 billion were allocated in both the Federal and State budget.

Minister King said 55 kilometres of the road had already been duplicated as part of a broader program, and this new project would duplicate a following 12 kilometres and introduce an extra lane. 

🔎 What this means: There have been calls for drastic repairs from West Vic locals for years. The Western Highway is a critical route supporting freight, tourism and daily commutes for a large amount of the region. 

• A portion of the Western Highway, between Ballarat and Stawell, has been labelled “the death stretch” with more than 170 crashes between 2015 and 2024.  

🗣️ “Sometimes it feels like a gamble just to head down to the shops," Riley House, a Ballarat local living in Miners Rest, told the Brolga. 

Local doubts: Ballarat resident Rachael Gauci welcomed the extra funding, but said the key was "consistent long-term investment, not short-term patchwork”. 

“From Melbourne to Portland, poor road conditions aren’t just an inconvenience, they impact safety and cost of living, with longer travel, vehicle damage, and increased risk. Especially in bad weather.” 

Some stretches of road in Ballarat are considered especially hazardous, like Haddon-Windemere Road. 

“We all joke about it”, said Christian Dymock, another Ballarat local. “You feel like you’re on a roller coaster. We call it the rainbow road because you never know when you’re gonna need rescue. You’re contending with kangaroos, the conditions on the road itself with no lighting except the main roundabouts.”

⛈️Calm before the storm: The extreme weather conditions driving damage to West Vic roads is expected to increase. 

In Australia, rainfall events that are high in intensity have increased, as well as flooding. In January, flash floods along the Great Ocean Road in Wye River, Lorne, Kennett River, and Separation Creek caused hundreds of locals and tourists to be displaced. Several vehicles and caravans were swept away by floodwaters and damage to some sites totalled in the hundreds of thousands. Roads were closed in both directions for hours, and sustained long-term damage. 

These weather patterns are a trend that is forecast to continue, according to Victoria’s Climate Science Report.

• Specific to West Vic, the report found daily rainfall extremes could increase by 8 percent per degree of global warming. 

• By the end of the century, flood risk is likely to double if emissions continue to rise. 

⌚ What next: The plans now await final approval from bodies such as the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) and construction timelines will be finalised in the coming months.