VISUAL cues are popping up across Horsham Rural City as the community ramps up its protest against VicRoads' preferred bypass route.
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One Horsham bypass group chairman Jeff Moore said the group had put ribbons along bypass Option B2 to ensure residents knew how it would affect them.
"A lot of people who do not live very far from the proposed bypass route don't know how close it is going to be to them," he said.
"Between 11 and 13 houses are going to be destroyed and others are going to have a big bridge within 100 metres.
"We're putting up ribbons where it will be. We are also going to put up 'Bypass Here?' signs around the Dooen Road area next week."
Mr Moore said a cherry picker would be used to demonstrate the height of the proposed Dooen Road intersection.
"It will be higher than the power poles," he said.
"That way people can realise just how close to it they are going to be and how the noise from all the trucks and traffic will affect them."
Option B2 cuts through Riverside north-east of the city and through a floodplain.
The committee is advocating for Option 2, which leaves the highway at Dock Lake reserve and Green Lake to the south-east of Horsham and bypasses the township of Pimpinio to the north-west.
It also joins up with Dooen Intermodal Freight Terminal.
Horsham North Residents Committee threw its support behind One Horsham's campaign for the community-preferred alignment for the bypass in September.
Mr Moore said it was great to have the group on board.
"We've since had a lot of interest from other groups as well, including the Green Lake recreation committee and Taylors Lake Football Netball Club.
"They've realised one of them has got to go if they're going to put four lanes between the two of them. Pimpinio residents are also concerned for their future since the bypass is likely to go through the town or the golf course."
Mr Moore said he was pleased to see a group of Riverside children write to the Mail-Times expressing their concern for their animals and quality of life.
"It's very good if people can shine a light on what this bypass is going to do to them," he said.
Mr Moore said the committee was waiting for Roads Minister Terry Mulder to make a decision.
Mr Mulder announced in August both Option 2 and Option 5A, to the south-west of the city, would be reconsidered alongside Option B2 and Option D in response to community feedback.
"It's in the minister's hands now. He knows where we stand," Mr Moore said.
VicRoads regional director Ewen Nevett said VicRoads was working with the State Government to determine when investigations would start.
