At an information session to brief residents on the City of Busselton’s plans to develop the Eastern Link, community members voiced support to see the development of Ford Road back on the agenda.
The Eastern Link road and bridge over the Vasse River was identified in the city’s traffic management study as a way to ease congestion in and around the central business district.
The Ford Road development, which could provide an alternative route in and out of Busselton without using Causeway Road, has been rejected twice by the Environmental Protection Authority.
The traffic management study found that the Eastern Link was the most cost effective option offering the most immediate positive impact on current and future traffic flow and environmental outcomes.
The bridge component would allow a duplicated vehicle crossing over the Vasse River using the old railway embankment and provide an alternative crossing to the existing bridge located at the intersection of Peel and Queen Street.
Strategen Environmental consultant Heath Morgan has been working with the city on the Eastern Link said the development would need to be referred to the federal government because 17 peppermint trees with western ringtail possum living in them would be removed.
At the meeting, resident Ron McDavid said the Eastern Link was “environmental destruction” and that there were no trees along Ford Road.
Ford Road, however, would run alongside the Vasse Wonnerup wetlands, one of 25 internationally recognised biodiversity hot spots in the world and the only one in Australia, according to the city.
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