The City of Ballarat's annual road renewal program is underway, delivering better roads for motorists.
The $11 million road renewal program involves the reconstruction of roads at the end of their 'useful life'.
The City of Ballarat's 2023-24 budget features an increased investment in roads infrastructure, with $36.3 million for capital road programs and maintenance, which includes $3 million in Federal Government funding.
City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson said the municipality's road renewal program reconstructs roads to cater for future demands and traffic loads.
"These roads are being reconstructed to new standards, usually with a thicker pavement and wider traffic lanes," he said.
"The shoulders of the roads are also constructed and sealed to prevent edge cracking and provide laneways for cyclists.
"The City of Ballarat's investment in road infrastructure demonstrates that we are committed to delivering a better Ballarat."
Some of the works in the annual renewal program include:
- Nolan Street and Scott Parade, Ballarat central. Works will replace the road with a deeper asphalt pavement, including the Lydiard Street roundabout. Funded through the City of Ballarat's Capital Works Program, the upgrade will better accommodate the primary bus route that provides the main connection to the Ballarat Train Station Bus Interchange.
- Upgrades to Falkirk Road in Nerrina, Windermere Street in Ballarat Central and Ryan Street in Brown Hill funded through the City of Ballarat's Capital Works Program.
- Rowlands Street, between Vickers Street and Birdwood Avenue, Sebastopol. Works will begin in February to reconstruct the remainder of Rowlands Street, after the section between Hill Street and Vickers Street was reconstructed in 2021. The $1 million works are funded through the Federal Government's Roads to Recovery program.
- Cromwell Street, between Hertford and Rubicon Streets, Sebastopol. Works will commence in late January to widen the road with a new asphalt surface and replace kerb and channel. The $1.3 million upgrade is funded through the Federal Government's Roads to Recovery program.
- Rubicon and Talbot Streets, Redan. Design works are underway for a roundabout to be constructed with works expected to begin in April or May. The project is funded through the Federal Government's Black Spot Program.
- Replacing a range of roads with a deeper asphalt pavement, funded through the City of Ballarat's Capital Works Program, is set to be completed by mid-year. The works will take place on Lydiard Street, at both the Macarthur Street roundabout and the Chisholm Street roundabout, at Doveton Street, at the Macarthur Street roundabout, at the Swinglers Road/Slatey Creek Road roundabout and at the Norman Street roundabout. The works will also take place at the Cuthberts Road and Towong Street roundabout, the Pleasant Street and Rubicon Street roundabout as well as in Holly Grove, Wendouree and in Finlay Street, Brown Hill.
A range of other projects are now in the design and survey planning phase.
In addition to the road renewal program, the City of Ballarat's annual road maintenance program of major patching and asphalt resurfacing works will also soon commence, with works expected to start in February and continue until May.
The City of Ballarat is also undertaking a routine road condition assessment survey of the municipality's 1,000km sealed road network over the next few weeks.
Contractors will collect surface condition data of the road network, including roughness, rutting, surface texture data and other engineering data.
City of Ballarat engineers will then process the data to identify where repairs and reconstruction are required, which will inform how the City of Ballarat plans future road projects for the next 10 years.
