Ravenswood residents say they are prepared to take VicRoads to court if they are not satisfied with plans for a sound barrier.
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It comes as VicRoads said it would build a sound barrier at a Calder Highway rest stop after discussions with residents.
A rest stop near the Calder Highway was being renewed by VicRoads to provide parking for cars, trucks up to B-doubles, caravans, buses and new toilet facilities.
It was expected to open by mid-2018.
Resident Shane Hartland fears property devaluation once the Jock Comini Memorial Rest Area reopens.
“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,’’ Mr Hartland said.
“No-one will be able to sleep.’’
The run-off lane and truck stop was close to six properties. His property was a stones’ throw from the lane.
Mr Hartland said locals had approached VicRoads a number of times about sound barriers but no progress had been made.
On Tuesday VicRoads regional director northern Brian Westley confirmed a sound barrier would be installed.
“After consultation with nearby residents, we will install a noise barrier along the highway near properties to minimise sound from the Jock Comini Memorial Rest Area and nearby Ravenswood Interchange,” he said.
He had said VicRoads had work closely with residents and property owners on Monday.
“We will continue to work with them before the opening of the rest area, which is due to open in mid-2018,” he had said.
Mr Hartland said the newly proposed sound barrier needed to be sufficient, and not a compromise sound resistant fence.
He said that if the barrier devalued nearby properties by obstructing views, VicRoads should provide fair compensation.
Mr Hartland said VicRoads would need to come back with more developed plans soon. Residents were planning to get a court injunction on all works.
Mr Hartland anticipated an injunction be lodged some time next week.
“That’s the time-frame,” he said.
The developments came as a group of property owners continued a long running process with VicRoads over nearby Ravenswood interchange works, which included moving people’s driveways off of the Calder Highway for safety reasons.
Joanne Glatz hopes to reclaim driveway
New driveways have been a long time coming for residents in Ravenswood.
Owners of six properties along the Calder Highway had been in discussions with VicRoads about connecting driveways to quieter roads behind their land for at least two years.
Resident Joanne Glazt said she had lost access to the Calder after a wire barrier had been installed out the front of her house two-and-a-half years ago.
“We don’t have a driveway anymore and we’ve been getting into our property via Bickfords Road and a bush track,” she said.
Ms Glatz said her biggest problem was that if an ambulance or fire truck was needed it could be difficult to access the property quickly.
Ideally, she would like to see the wire barrier gone.
That way, she would get access back onto the highway, which she said was safer now because the shoulder of the road had been widened.
VicRoads was attempting to improve safety along the Calder by changing the way people accessed their properties, the group’s northern region director Brian Westley said.
“We're building an access road off the highway so drivers can reach their properties without having to slow down or pull out into fast-moving traffic,” he said.
“We've been in close consultation with residents to ensure they are fully aware of the change in access to their properties.”
If the injunction attempt took place, Mr Hartland said the group would also seek to have wire barriers removed from driveways.
They may have been in contact with us over the last couple of years, but we still have no answers. We are just in limbo.
- Eve Cauchi, Ravenswood property owner.
The rest stop project had become a sore spot for several people who had contacted the Bendigo Advertiser. They said they had not been formally consulted about it.
Mr Hartland was concerned that without an engineer-approved sound barrier the noise from trucks slowing down to enter the rest area may become a problem at night.
VicRoads on Tuesday indicated it would build a sound barrier, but tensions that had built over the years may continue.
Mr Hartland said VicRoads would need to act quickly to outline a satisfactory solution before residents approached the courts.
A headache Eve Cauchi had hoped to avoid
Local property owner Eve Cauchi was frustrated by the slow pace of consultation on the driveway project.
She felt like the process seemed to go in circles.
“There has been nothing confirmed as our responses from VicRoads are always changing,” she said.
Ms Cauchi said there were three different VicRoads projects in the area – the Ravenswood Intersection, upgrades to the rest area and the driveways project – and each had different people listed as contacts.
Because of the size of the Ravenswood Intersection project and associated works in the area, different offices based in Melbourne, Ravenswood and Bendigo were handling different jobs.
“I don't know how we are meant to keep track of contacts when they are always changing,” Ms Cauchi said.
Added to that, she said contacts for projects had appeared to change every six months. Each had given her different information.
“They may have been in contact with us over the last couple of years, but we still have no answers. We are just in limbo,” she said.
It had been a headache that Ms Cauchi had tried to avoid by putting the property on the market in July 2016.
She had hoped to sell it to a new owner who could then make modifications based on changes to road access at the property.
“I put my asking price down several times over the next year-and-a-half with no luck,” Ms Cauchi said.
“As VicRoads had not confirmed timing as to when changes they were willing to make, or were making, and put nothing in writing to show prospective buyers, all interest fell through.”
She thought about renting the property out, but was uncomfortable with putting people there when it was unclear when they could be inconvenienced by works.
“So I have been losing money I could be making to help pay the mortgage,” Ms Cauchi said.
VicRoads said it would provide “minor property alterations” to landowners affected by changes to land access.
Ms Cauchi had also been offered a maximum $20,000 for property upgrades. While she believed it might not be enough to do the required work, she had been in contact with VicRoads about a quote from a contractor as late as last week.
“So I am waiting to hear back a response,” she said.
Ms Glatz had been offered compensation for work on her garden, car port and driveway. However, she was still negotiating around the new location of the driveway, including its location.
“I’m not happy with having a driveway sticking across a paddock. That just makes it useless,” she said.
*VicRoads said it did not disclose information about individual cases.