A Ravenswood resident is concerned those living next to a soon-to-reopen rest stop will have sleep troubles if a barrier is not built to block the sound of trucks’ brakes.
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The rest stop near the Calder Highway would provide parking for cars, trucks up to B-doubles, caravans, buses and new toilet facilities and was expected to open by mid-2018.
Shane Hartland feared property devaluation when the Jock Comini Memorial Rest Area was reopened, saying VicRoads should delay the project so that an engineer-approved sound barrier could be constructed.
“At the end of the day, you won’t be able to live in that area if they put a truck stop in with air brakes. No-one will be able to sleep,” Mr Hartland said.
He said the run-off lane and truck stop was close to six properties.
“You can literally throw a stone at it from our front yard,” he said.
Mr Hartland said locals had approached VicRoads a number of times about sound barriers but no progress had been made.
VicRoads said it had contacted Mr Hartland as recently as Friday.
“With a little bit of consultation in the design stage we would have been able to say ‘don’t put the truck stop run-off lane directly across the road from us’,” Mr Hartland said.
“We would have asked them to put up a sound barrier, or run the road lower down the hill near the motorbike track so that we could not hear the exhaust brakes throughout the night.”
Related (September 2017): Jock Comini upgrade set to start
Mr Hartland said that before the works began, some trucks with big loads heading through a then-100km zone rattled windows.
“We know the exhaust brakes will add more on top of that. Plus, there will be a new 110km speed limit, which will make it worse for trucks slowing down or speeding up,” he said.
Requests for a sound barrier came as Mr Hartland and other local property owners continued an approximately two-year process with VicRoads over nearby Ravenswood interchange works, which involved separating properties from the Calder Highway.
VicRoads did not respond to questions about whether a sound barrier would be built at the rest stop, or about how much noise might be made by trucks entering or exiting the area.
However, regional director northern Brian Westley said VicRoads had worked closely with residents and property owners throughout the delivery of the interchange and rest area projects.
“We will continue to work with them before the opening of the rest area, which is due to open in mid-2018,” he said.
Tom O'Callaghan
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
