A project to improve access to the Daylesford industrial precinct will mean large trucks will no longer have to pass through a residential Daylesford street.
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Regional development Minister Jaala Pulford and Macedon MP Mary-Anne Thomas announced a $400,000 state government contribution to lower the road under the rail bridge at East Street in Daylesford on Friday.
The state government funding matches a Hepburn Shire Council contribution of $400,000 to increase the clearance under the bridge from 3.6 metres to 4.6 metres.
The long-awaited announcement comes after seven years of campaigning from Stanbridge Street residents, who have put up with large trucks driving past their houses and a primary school to access the industrial precinct on East Street.
Despite being delighted about the bridge project, Stanbridge Street resident David Marshall said council should create effective truck traffic control measures to ensure Stanbridge Street does not continue to be used as a shortcut from Midland Highway to Ballan-Daylesford Road.
“If council does traffic control in the form of chicanes and signs saying ‘local traffic only’ as a discouragement to local truck traffic, we will be delighted that the bed and breakfast side of Daylesford and the residential side of this beautiful town on the hill will coexist with this industrial zone,” Mr Marshall said.
The Daylesford industrial precinct currently houses 20 businesses with around 100 employees and is expected to expand once the East Street bridge project is complete.
Daylesford and Hepburn Mineral Spring Co owners Mitch Watson and Brylie Rankine said the ability to use East Street rather than Stanbridge Street as a route for large trucks will help grow their business.
“Our growth and our ability to employ more people has been hampered. We haven’t been able to pivot our business model to use heavier truck because we have been mindful to empathise with residents on Stanbridge Street,” Mr Watson said.
Hepburn Shire mayor John Cottrell said most of the design work for the project had been completed and council was hoping to award a contact in coming weeks.