The question everyone in Ararat and across Western Victoria is asking is simple: when will the Western Highway duplication finally be completed?
In 2019, the former Federal Liberal and Nationals Government committed $360 million to complete the duplication of the Western Highway between Ballarat and Stawell but there has been nothing but delays since and the duplication still hasn’t reached Ararat.
So far, work has not reached far beyond Buangor. That’s an appalling result for what is Australia’s third-busiest interstate freight route, carrying thousands of heavy vehicles every day.
Every delay means more frustration for drivers, more wear and tear on vehicles, and tragically, more lives lost.
The section between Buangor and Ararat is the next critical stage, yet there is no clear timeline, no published plan and no explanation from the Allan Victorian Labor Government as to why progress has ground to a halt. Communities from Beaufort to Stawell are completely in the dark, wondering how many more years they’ll have to wait before the highway is made safe.
This isn’t just about convenience. It’s about saving lives. The Western Highway is a notorious stretch of road where serious accidents including head-on collisions are far too common. Every day the duplication is delayed increases the risk to every truck driver, commuter and family using the highway.
An ABC article published on 10 October 2025 reported that between 2015 and 2024, 174 crashes occurred on the Western Highway between Ballarat and Stawell, including on the unduplicated sections, resulting in 16 fatalities and 105 serious injuries.
A fatal crash at Buangor in March this year prompted a petition for urgent upgrades. This was sadly followed by a five-vehicle collision near Ararat in May that claimed three more lives.
AusRAP data, only recently released after a three-year campaign by the AAA, reveals that the unduplicated stretch of the Western Highway from the Pope Road intersection near Buangor to Ararat rates only one and two stars on the safety scale.
A one-star rating means very high risk, while roads rated three stars or above dramatically reduce the likelihood of death or serious injury. A cursory glance at the AusRAP ratings map shows a high concentration of three and four-star roads in metropolitan Melbourne, however.
Regional Victorians shouldn’t have to fight for the kind of safe, modern road infrastructure that Melbourne takes for granted. The Western Highway is a national freight artery, vital for connecting producers, exporters and regional towns.
Locals are tired of hearing excuses and regional Victorians are tired of Premier Allan treating them like second-class citizens.
The duplication has bipartisan federal funding, strong community support, and proven safety and economic benefits for Western Victoria. What it lacks is state leadership.
The Allan Victorian Labor Government must come clean with the community now.
When will the Buangor–Ararat duplication be built? What is the timeline for completion? And why has this project—promised, funded and desperately needed—been delayed for so many years?
It’s time for transparency, accountability and action. The people of Ararat, and every community along the Western Highway, deserve to know when this project will be finished.
Published in the Pyrenees Advocate and the Ararat Advocate
