A LEAKED Transport Department document outlining a proposed B-triple network on Victorian highways has outraged Wimmera councils.
The office of Terry Mulder, Shadow Minister for Public Transport and Roads, released a map yesterday which highlighted eight highways as `the spine of a potential network' for B-triples.
The Western Highway from Melbourne to South Australia and the Henty Highway from Horsham to Portland are among those listed.
Mr Mulder told the Mail- Times yesterday he believed the State Government intended to announce the network and introduce B-triples to Victorian roads as part of its new transport plan, to be announced in eight to 10 weeks.
He said by releasing the map he hoped to force the government to first consult councils and other organisations.
"In my view, they are planning to do what they did with Melbourne's clearways, make the announcement, start a fight and bash communities into submission, but this hopefully will force them to consult the public."
Hindmarsh Mayor Rob Gersch was shocked to learn of the alleged proposal.
He said VicRoads assured councils B-triples would be kept off the Western Highway until it was upgraded to dual lanes.
"It would be an absolute disaster," Cr Gersch said.
"I think the government would be making an extremely bad mistake if they put B-triples on single-lane highways. It's just not on."
Cr Gersch said transporting freight by rail would be a safer and more sustainable option than introducing B-triples.
He said the Western Highway would need `mega dollars' spent on it before it would be able to cope with more traffic.
"We can't bury our head in the sand saying there can't be more trucks. If we're moving grain through the domestic market then it has to go by road, but we need better roads and facilities for these trucks," he said.
Horsham Mayor Pam Clarke labelled the plan `disastrous'.
"I have been in talks with VicRoads and I was told the B-triples would only be on dual-lane highways," she said.
"A lot of people won't get on the highway if this happens, it's just so dangerous."
Horsham Rural City Council chief executive Kerryn Shade said the priority was to increase rail freight and ensure Western Highway improvements before B-triples were introduced.
He said councillors would discuss the issue at a meeting on Monday.
A spokeswoman for Minister for Roads and Ports Tim Pallas said `no decisions' had been made.
"Victoria's freight task is expected to double by 2030. That's more TVs, DVDs and food to be moved around the state and we need to move it as efficiently as possible," she said.
"The Victorian Government continues to assess the views of the community and the industry to look at the impact of high productivity vehicles.
"Introducing these vehicles on restricted routes on our road network will actually take trucks off the road, reduce congestion and have environmental benefits as well."
Email a friend
Favourites
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Digg
StumbleUpon
MySpace
Reddit
Newsvine
LinkedIn
Kwoff