Regional Director Ewen Nevett said VicRoads referred the bypass planning project to the Minister for Planning after identifying environmental sensitivities in the area.

“We are in the early stages of investigating route options for a bypass to improve freight efficiency, road safety and town amenity as growth in Western Victoria leads to traffic volume increases along the highway,” he said.

“In mid-2015, the Minister for Planning determined that an EES was required.

“The EES process will give us a detailed assessment of the potential environmental impacts of a bypass.

“It will also allow the State Government and local government to understand and assess bypass routes for their potential impact or determine whether modifications or further investigations are needed.”

Mr Nevett said a Technical Reference Group (TRG) comprised of key government agencies has been established to set out the range of potential issues to be investigated in the EES.

“This is likely to include investigations around potential environmental, cultural heritage, social, economic, land use planning, agricultural, hydrology, traffic volumes and safety impacts,” he said.

“Visual effects on the current landscape will also be considered.

“This information will help guide our investigations.”

Mr Nevett said involving the community is a key priority for VicRoads moving forward with bypass planning.

“We expect public consultation to ramp up next year, including discussion around where a bypass could go.

“We will set up various communication channels during the EES process to ensure people share their local knowledge to help us understand key issues and keep people informed on planning progress and outcomes.

“We will also continue to speak with property owners and residents in the bypass investigation area to understand individual circumstances and work towards minimising impacts.

“The EES for a Beaufort bypass is expected to take about 18 months to complete and VicRoads will work with all parties to reach the best result.” 

Any approval decisions relating to the Beaufort bypass are on hold until the EES process is complete.

There is no funding for the detailed design or construction of a Western Highway Beaufort bypass.