The Geelong Advertiser reports today - Drysdale bypass next step, by Peter Begg, August 2nd, 2012:
"The State Government has embarked on a study into a bypass road for Drysdale, with the results expected by the end of this year.
Cr Rod Macdonald said the council wrote to the Roads Minister Terry Mulder and he had replied that VicRoads was doing an assessment of the potential benefits of a Drysdale bypass.
"They expect the review to be completed by December," he said...
Last month, a local community group urged local politicians to support the building of a Drysdale ring road.
Drysdale-Clifton Springs Community Association secretary Patrick Hughes said his group wanted councillors and MPs to support the bypass as a priority.
The proposed road would skirt Drysdale to the east from Whitcombes Rd to Andersons Rd, diverting traffic away from busy High St..."
Read more at: Drysdale bypass next step.
An article in the Geelong Advertisier today (print edition - Wednesday 25 April 2012) entitled "Call grows for bypass" by Tom Bennett calls for the building of the Drysdale bypass by Tom O'Connor from the Committee for Bellarine.
The Committee for Bellarine has jointed the growing chorus for a Drysdale ring road.
The proposed bypass would allow Geelong-bound traffic from Portarlington, Indented Head and St Leonards to avoid Drysdale altogether.
It would also keep garbage trucks bound for the local tip out of the town centre and its major intersections.
Adjoining towns Drysdale and Clifton Springs have undergone a population explosion in recent years and peak hour traffic snarls are now common.
Worst effected areas are in the main retail precinct and the four way intersection at the Jetty Rd roundabout.
The busiest time is between 8am and 9am when peak hour coincides with school drop offs.
While I understand the reasons behind the call for the bypass, previous reports have suggested that the bypass which has to be funded by VicRoads is not a priority. Estimates of between $50m and $70m to build the road have been quoted. VicRoads has already spent between $4m and $5m buying up land to use for the road. Still more land has to be purchased.
Given the austere times facing this state government, I don't see this project getting underway anytime soon.
"THE case for an estimated $50 million bypass at Drysdale is being developed as councillors declare traffic in the town is becoming increasingly chaotic...
Cheetham councillor Rod Macdonald said a previous study found there wasn't sufficient traffic to justify the initiative, but he was aware of an increase in road use.
Coryule councillor John Doull agreed, claiming it took him 5-10 minutes longer to proceed through the roundabout as he took his children to school..."This is hardly surprising. On 14 December I wrote about how Geelong Council by closing the Corio tip was automatically guaranteeing the traffic through Drysdale and down Murradoc Road would increase exponentially. (Welcome to Drysdale - Home of Geelong's Tip).
"Member for Bellarine Lisa Neville has ruled out funding for a Drysdale bypass. Ms Neville told the Independent traffic levels in the area did not support calls for construction of a bypass “at this stage”.
"We will continue to monitor traffic growth and demand against other projects across the state," the Labor minister said.
The Independent reported in March this year that community leaders were pushing for a funding promise to eliminate the Bellarine Peninsula’s worst traffic bottleneck.
Traffic banks up for hundreds of metres at the intersection of Grubb, Jetty and Portarlington-Geelong roads during peak hours. The queue back into Drysdale along Portarlington-Geelong road can run for over a kilometre.
Plans for further housing development off Jetty Road are set to put more pressure on the intersection..."
Update: 11 October 2010 - The Age today reports (in an article entitled Plan for hundreds of kilometres of new freeways) on the "Proposed 2040 Road Network Development" which links to a map showing the Drysdale bypass as a primary arterial 6 lane plus road. The complete map is available from http://images.theage.com.au/file/2010/10/10/1977327/Melbourne2040.pdf
So the road is still on the cards but we might have to wait another 30 plus years to see it.
An article in the Geelong Independent on 11 March 2010 says some Drysdale traders are concerned that the Drysdale bypass - if it goes ahead - would affect their businesses
Drysdale traders fear 'under-researched' calls for a bypass would lead to devastation of the town's economy if successful, according to hardware salesman Chris Shultz.
He accused bypass supporters of blowing Drysdale's traffic problems 'out of proportion.
The major impact of a bypass would be on the bottom line of Drysdale businesses, he warned.
More information is available from: Traders worried business could bypass their shops.
In the same paper, rival state election candidates have the Drysdale bypass as a high priority on their agendas - more information is available from: Bypass on the agenda.
An article in this weeks Bellarine Times (page 3, 9 March 2010 issue) reports:
"VicRoads has spent up to $5million buying land along a proposed Drysdale bypass route, but the project is not a priority."
The cost will be somewhere in the vicinity of $50m to $70m but the traffic volume does not justify raising its priority level.
More information is available at the Bellarine Times.
