A BUANGOR resident has handed a letter to Ararat Rural City Council expressing her wish for the planned Western Highway improvements to be re-routed.
MairiAnne MacKenzie wants to avoid the loss of native flora and fauna in the area.
The letter was handed to mayor Paul Hooper at Tuesday’s council meeting by Ms MacKenzie with the hope it would be passed on to VicRoads for consideration.
Ms MacKenzie has been outspoken about the highway plans and voiced her concerns in front of about 10 other conservation group members at the council chambers.
The letter expressed the group’s desire to see the alternative northern option for the highway upgrade to be adopted, rather than the current plans for the duplication of the highway between Beaufort and Ararat.
Another member of the group, Charles Pithie, who runs a farm near Buangor, questioned the mayor on what would be required to gain council approval for the northern option.
Council is expected to address the request in coming weeks.
The public acquisition of the land along the planned route by the Victorian government has already happened, with the project expected to be tendered in the near future.
Also in attendance at the meeting was elderly resident Isabel MacKenzie, who protested the plans by chaining herself to a red gum tree early last year.
Construction for the widening of the Western Highway is expected to start within the next few months with an expected completion date of mid-2017.
