Farmers up in arms after rural road closed without consultation

A kilometre-long section of Trevaskis Road at Hawdon Road near Wyuna, east of Echuca, has been torn up and closed due to safety concerns, and local landowners say they were not consulted before the road was ripped up.

Local farmers rely on the road to move heavy machinery instead of using the busier Goulburn Valley Highway which Trevaskis Road links with Hawdon Road, the main road to Shepparton.

The Victorian Farmers Federation weighed in, calling into question the Department of Transport's consultation process which it described as "flawed".

Wyuna farmer John Russell, who specialises in broadacre cropping and contracting, said the road was closed two weeks ago without notice to people in the area.

"Regional Roads Victoria got lazy and didn't want to do their job and it was just an easy way of ticking a box and saying 'we've fixed a bad intersection'," Mr Russell said.

"The condition of the bitumen was perfect and apparently the only person consulted was the person who lived on the road, but not the other local landowners who use the road regularly."

The Department of Transport said the intersection was identified for improvements due to its crash history where previously two people had died as a result of collisions.

It said the road closure would improve safety issues faced by drivers, including a lack of visibility.

But Mr Russell criticised the department who he said had done little to improve road safety in the area in the lead up to the road's closure.

"They never put up stop or slow down signs, or rumble strips, they just went ahead and ripped it up," he said.

VFF grains president Ashley Fraser said in most cases landowners were not consulted about road closures or changes unless they had a house which fronted the road in question.

"What farmers often do is use smaller roads with less traffic to keep heavy machinery off main arterial roads," Mr Fraser said.

"The issue of consultation right through Regional Roads Victoria and the government is flawed and we are struggling for transparency and consultation."

The VFF has written to the department about the closure in the Campaspe Shire, but is yet to receive a reply.

"Whether you're talking bridge or road assessments or banning B-double access... you've quite often got knee-jerk reactions without the proper consultation of the people actually involved in the use of these roads," Mr Fraser said.

"It's a simple process - you have to engage with all the stakeholders."

Wyuna East cropping and beef farmer Craig Baldwin described the road closure as "ill-conceived".

"I'm a landowner that's directly impacted and we've got land that adjoins the section of Trevaskis Road that's been restricted," Mr Baldwin said.

"We had no consultation and the road has been shut without any due process.

"We understand the risks that intersection poses and we are strong advocates for safety updates, as opposed to closure which is not the fairest option."

Department of Transport Loddon Mallee director Melanie Hotton said the closure of the road would improve road safety in the area.

"[It] will help to address this intersection's unacceptable crash history," she said.