Barwon Heads Rd upgrade deemed ‘unavoidable issue’ after fed funding boost

Addressing the rising cost pressures associated to the upgrade of an arterial Geelong road has been deemed an “unavoidable issue” for the federal government.

Member for Corio Richard Marles helped announce $68m in funding for stage two of the Barwon Heads Rd upgrade last week. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The rising cost pressure of an upgrade to a major arterial road in Geelong has been described as an “unavoidable issue” in Tuesday’s budget.

Addressing the costs associated with the second stage of the Barwon Heads Rd upgrade is considered “critical” by the government, just days after local MP’s Libby Coker and Richard Marles jointly announced a further $68m in funding towards it.

According to the government, investment in these critical areas supports the delivery of essential services and prevents cuts to services Australians rely on.

The state and federal government had both originally pledged $125m each to deliver the duplication of an increasingly busy stretch of road between Reserve Rd and Lower Duneed Rd.

In January it was revealed the $250m second stage would be wound back by the state government, with 2km of road originally earmarked for expansion now cut from the plans.

Libby Coker MP has remained confident stage two of the upgrade would be completed on time. Picture: Alan Barber

A state government website showed, under the revised plans, the duplication would end at Lake Rd, rather than Lower Duneed Rd, with the government claiming at the time community feedback played a key role in “refining the scope” of the project.

“Further detailed traffic modelling indicated that upgrading the 3.5km of Barwon Heads Rd between Reserve Rd and Lake Rd will still continue to meet demand for over the next decade, while reducing the amount of land needed to be acquired to make way for the new lanes,” a government spokesman said at the time.

However the federal government announced on Friday it would be pledging a further $68m to see the project completed in full, taking the total cost of the project to $318m.

Corangamite MP Libby Coker said the federal government had “always been committed” to the road’s duplication all the way to Lower Duneed Rd.

Ms Coker has also said throughout that she was “confident” the second stage of the project would be delivered on time, despite other big build projects blowing out in recent years.

Ms Coker’s upcoming election rival Darcy Dunstan refused to comment on Friday about the announced funding increase, despite calling the original cut “another reckless move from a government with no understanding of the impact of its decisions not to honour its election commitment”.

Liberal Corangamite candidate Darcy Dunstan refused to comment following the $68m pledge to complete the works. Picture: Alison Wynd

The $365m first stage of the upgrade, completed six months ahead of schedule in 2023, saw duplication occur between Settlement and Reserve roads.

It also included a rail overpass at Marshall, intersection upgrades, new traffic lights, road upgrades, and the duplication of 4km of road.

Barwon Heads Rd stage two is one of three Infrastructure Investment Program mentioned as “unavoidable issues”, along with additional funding to illicit tobacco, essential government services as well as the new, amended listings on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme among other things.

The government has had to provide $3.5bn over five years to address these issues since the 2024–25 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

Originally published as Barwon Heads Rd upgrade deemed ‘unavoidable issue’ after fed funding boost