November 17, 2011
Australia
Australia
Call for wind farm roads to be resealed
ABC Ballarat, www.abc.net.au 17 November 2011
ABC Ballarat, www.abc.net.au 17 November 2011
The Moyne Shire says the Victorian Government must ensure roads near the Macarthur wind farm are resealed after construction there finishes.
VicRoads has told the council it will convert some of the roads to gravel because they have been severely damaged by trucks carrying building materials to the site of the $1 billion wind farm.
It says annual funding and road maintenance priorities will determine when the roads are resealed.
Moyne Mayor Jim Doukas fears the roads may be left with a gravel surface indefinitely.
“We asked well, fair enough, if you haven’t got the time because of the traffic to fix them, but what happens when all of the trucks are left and no longer require the road and they said there’s a very, very good chance that they won’t be resealed again,” he said.
“Well, we just can’t accept that, that’s not on.”
A local farmer, Jeff Riordon, says some of the roads around the wind farm have become too dangerous to drive on.
He says residents are taking long alternative routes because they do not believe the roads are safe.
“Some of them you don’t really want to drive on,” he said.
“We’ve got to go the long way round to get to Warrnambool and they’re only narrow roads.”
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/11/17/call-for-wind-farm-roads-to-be-resealed/