On September 9, 1963, the Wimmera Mail-Times ran a front page story about a proposed bypass that would skirt Horsham to the south.
It was a Country Roads Board proposal.
More than 50 years on, the Horsham bypass is still a hot topic of discussion.
The Mail-Times looks back on how plans for the bypass have played out over the past 10 years.
October 2007: Horsham Rural City Council releases its Horsham 2040 draft plan, which includes a proposed Horsham bypass route to the north-east of the city. About 50 outrange landowners, who live in the path of the route, criticised council for a lack of consultation. Council’s plan was designed to provide a blueprint for Horsham for the next 30 years and shows a Western Highway bypass or ring road skirting the northeast edge of the city. The plan is the result of a council push to establish a Western Highway bypass route or ring road around the city.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
April 2008: A brainstorming session between key organisations discusses the best options for a Horsham bypass. The group believed work on realignment of the Western Highway to bypass Horsham is due to take at least five years. Community meetings about the bypass show there is overwhelming community support.
December 2008: A Melbourne consultancy firm creates 14 options for a Western Highway Horsham bypass.
March 2009: Consultants recommended an inner bypass route as the preferred Horsham bypass route. The option cuts north along West Road, crosses the Wimmera River between Riverside and River Heights and continues west along Gatehouse Road to the highway.
At the request of Horsham Rural City Council and VicRoads, consultants Parsons Brinckerhoff outlined three preferred options, all to the east and north of Horsham, for people to consider at community consultation sessions.
The other two options were Hobbs Road to Longerenong Road to Horsham-Drung South Road and Francis Road to Longerenong Road to Horsham-Drung South Road.
However, community meetings have called for a wider route, suggesting the alignment travel along the Wail-Dooen Road, Longerenong Road and Horsham-Drung South Road.
May 2009: One Horsham bypass consultation group has resolved to continue to fight against any bypass option which will cut through Horsham’s outskirts. One Horsham spokeswoman Denise McLennan said a Western Highway bypass cutting through the city would affect the whole community
May 2011: VicRoads shortlists five options for a future Horsham bypass.
These include:
Option 11, which leaves the Western Highway to the east of Horsham at West Road and rejoins the Western Highway to the north of Horsham immediately south of the aerodrome.
Option 12, which leaves the Western Highway south of the commercial area and follows south of Holes and Plozzas roads, to rejoin the Western Highway to the north of O’Brees and Curran roads intersection.
Option B2, which leaves the Western Highway near Burnt Creek, crosses the Henty Highway and heads in a north-west direction to pass east of the aerodrome to rejoin the Western Highway near Dooen School Road.
Option 5a, which leaves the existing Western Highway at the intersection of Golf Course Road and the Henty Highway and continues west towards the Wimmera River. The route rejoins the Western Highway to the north of O’Brees and Curran roads intersection.
May 2011: A public meeting at Haven has renewed support for VicRoads to reinstate an alternative Horsham bypass option.
More than 200 people raised their hands in support of Option 2 being returned to the table.
The route, suggested by the community in 2008, would exit the Western Highway south of Horsham, pass through Dooen and reconnect to the highway at Wail.
However, VicRoads said it had ruled out reinstating the route.
July 2011: VicRoads releases community consultation results for the Horsham bypass which reveal option 5a is the most preferred route among residents.
The route leaves the Western Highway at the intersection of Golf Course Road and the Henty Highway and rejoins north of O’Brees and Curran roads intersection.
It cuts through Riverside.
August 2011: National Member for Mallee John Forrest is worried about the length of time taken to determine an alternative route for the Western Highway around Horsham.
Mr Forrest said the indecision was holding back development.
“Horsham is in limbo until the route of the bypass is confirmed and incorporated into state and Horsham Rural City Council planning,” Mr Forrest said.
“I don’t want to hear about preferred routes, I want to hear about the adopted route.
December 2012: VicRoads narrows the options for the Western Highway Horsham Bypass down to two. Detailed investigations for each option are complete and VicRoads has shortlisted options 11 and B2, plus a combination of both options - option D - which bypass Horsham to the north-east.
May 2013: VicRoads selects route option B2 as its preferred alignment for the bypass. The options leaves the Western Highway near Burnt Creek, crosses the Henty Highway and heads in a north-west direction to pass east of the aerodrome to rejoin the Western Highway near Dooen School Road.
January 2014: VicRoads is refining the route for the Horsham bypass to try to minimise the effect on landowners. The authority selected route Option B2 as its preferred alignment for the Western Highway bypass in May 2013.
VicRoads was also revisiting the possibility of Option D.
July 2014: Member for Western Victoria David O’Brien has rejected VicRoads’ preferred route option for the Horsham bypass. Mr O’Brien said he and Member for Lowan Hugh Delahunty would advocate for Option 2 – suggested by the community in 2008.
Option 2 was one of 14 options developed in phase one of the bypass study in 2009.
July 2015: VicRoads exhibits alignment plans for options B2 and D, and inform people about how to make submissions as part of the planning scheme amendment process.
Option B2 cuts through Riverside, to the north-east of the city, while Option D runs east of Horsham. One Horsham bypass group calls on the state government to join its fight to get bypass options 2 and 5a back on the table.
September 2015: Horsham council rejects city bypass options B2 and D.
October 2015: VicRoads announces option D has its preferred option. The authority put forward options D and B2 during the planning scheme amendment process to reserve bypass land. Option D is a variation of B2, with both cutting to the north-east of the city through Riverside.
AUGUST 2016: Horsham Rural City Council releases a preliminary draft report that recommends a long-term Horsham bypass option. The report is part of stage one of the Horsham Integrated Transport Plan and recommends support for bypass option D, which would see a connection between the Western Highway and Gatehouse Road to the east of Horsham with a Henty Highway intersection
September 2016: Horsham Rural City Council rejects bypass option 5a.
November 2016: VicRoads seeks Planning Minister Richard Wynne’s approval for the planning scheme using bypass Option D, despite councillors expressing concerns. Councillors approved a report that recommended Option D in September, but did not explicitly approve Option D.
February 2017: Member for Western Victoria Simon Ramsay calls for the state’s roads minister to intervene in a disagreement over planning for the Horsham bypass. VicRoads has moved ahead with option D, but Horsham Rural City Council has not endorsed any options for the bypass. Mr Ramsay called on the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Luke Donnellan, to intervene.
June 2017: Horsham Rural City Council rejects option D. The decision was then rescinded at a meeting in July.
