Businesses and their customers have had to deal with a poor road surface and a large number of trucks using the narrow road for several years.
City of Greater Shepparton councillors voted at the September council meeting to reclassify Carroll Rd from a category three rural access road to a category three urban access for industrial use road.
As part of the reclassification, work will be done to the road pavement, to reflect the increase in traffic on the road, especially by heavy vehicles accessing businesses.
Recent traffic counts on the road showed 600 to 700 vehicles were using the road each day.
Of those, 20 per cent were heavy vehicles.
And, of those heavy vehicles, 25 per cent were large articulated vehicle or B-double trucks.
The work on the road upgrade is expected to cost council an estimated $649,800, and will be included in the 2026-27 council budget.
It will include removing 50mm of existing road surface and then constructing 165mm of asphalt on top.
This will raise the road level by about 115mm on the current level.
The road will also be widened, from a current width of about one and a third lanes.
However, the work is dependent on the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning agreeing to also do work at the intersection of Carroll Rd and the Midland Hwy, which it is responsible for.
In a report presented to the council meeting, council staff said it was assumed the department work would include a turning lane, at an estimated cost of $245,000.
Council’s work on the road will not be able to go ahead without the intersection upgrade, as road levels will need to be built up to align the two roads at the same height.
Darryl Twitt Motors is one of the businesses on Carroll Rd, with parts of the business on either side of the road.
Dealer principal Jason Sherlock has welcomed council’s decision after what he said had been an issue for about five years.
“It’s a really positive step,” Mr Sherlock said.
“We’re glad we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Mr Sherlock said there were a lot of complaints from customers about the pothole-ridden road, which was muddy in winter and dusty in summer.
“They buy a $145,000 Land Rover or Audi and they have to drive out in that,” he said.
Mr Sherlock said drainage works for the road that were already in the offing would alleviate some of the mud and dust issues.
A separate council item in September’s agenda notified councillors that the tender was currently under evaluation for drainage and shared path construction.
Mr Sherlock was also pleased the road would be widened as part of these works, saying it would alleviate issues of having to get off the road when trucks heading to Foott came down the road at the same time as cars.
“The B-doubles take up most of the road,” he said.
“It will be a lot safer (after the work).”
Foott chief executive Andrew Yeoland also welcomed news of the upgrade.
“We’re absolutely thrilled the road is being upgraded,” he said.
“It’s a great reflection of the increased traffic the road is getting.”
Mr Yeoland said the move reflected the growth of Foott, with an increase in trucks going to the business, as well as the increase in car traffic from people using the Container Deposit Scheme depot.
“We’ve got more trucks on the road now, and more residents coming into the depot,” he said.
“We want to make it easier for them.”
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