Tourist route misses cash, but on the radar

FUNDING for the Wangaratta-Whitfield Road was missing in the 2025-26 Victorian budget but Treasurer and Northern Victoria MP Jaclyn Symes has confirmed an upgrade is on her radar. During public question time in the Legislative Council prior to the budget, One Nation's MP for Northern Victoria questioned Ms Symes about the road, asking for a full upgrade between Oxley and Whitfield. “The Wangaratta-Whitfield Road is a major arterial road that services almost half of the municipality and has been in dire need of an upgrade for many years,” Mrs Tyrrell said. Ms Symes responded saying she was "intimately familiar about the project as a local member and someone who has supported that region for the past 11 years and indeed lots of investment in relation to the tourism offerings there". "You describe Wangaratta-Whitfield Road, but the Benalla-Whitfield Road is also an extension of Wangaratta-Whitfield Road, as is Mansfield-Whitfield Road," Ms Symes responded to Mrs Tyrrell. "The whole corridor is something that I am very familiar with. "As you have articulated, there are lots and lots of visitors going there, because we have been supporting particularly the wineries but also cycling tourism and the like to approach that region. "I have had briefings with the DTP [Department of Transport and Planning] and Wangaratta council in relation to this road, as well as Tourism North East, so there are a lot of discussions going about this. "I think that Wangaratta council have got some ideas; DTP probably needs to do a bit more planning. It is a priority." Ms Symes said she was of a similar view to Mrs Tyrrell in relation to advocacy for investment on the project, and she thinks there is a bit of work that needs to be undertaken. In the 2025-26 budget some $976 million has been allocated to fixing potholes and upgrading road surfaces across Victoria. Now that funding has been allocated, road maintenance experts from the DTP will begin putting together a program of works for the 25-26 financial year. A government spokesperson reported that crews regularly inspect every single kilometre of the arterial road network, including the Wangaratta-Whitfield Road, delivering short-term repairs where needed while also identifying necessary long-term works.

Tourist route misses cash, but on the radar

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