Heavy traffic around the South Goulburn service centre will have a second means of 'escape' with the completion of the Tait Crescent to Lockyer Street road link.
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More than that, the council says it will also unlock extra industrial land for development.
The organisation began land acquisitions in 2017 for part of the route and allocated $1.3 million to the project in the 2018/19 budget. A spokesman said the $1m road construction it had been completed on time and on budget. In addition, $260,000 had been spent on land swaps and acquisitions.
"The road link will provide huge benefits to our economy in the longer term, with a significant amount of land now with far improved access," Mayor Bob Kirk said.
"Being one minute away from the Hume Highway interchange in South Goulburn is a massive bonus for business, and I'm looking forward to seeing this land developed over the coming years, in turn creating more jobs for our residents. We saw this project as critical to our economic development after it was highlighted in our Employment Lands Strategy, and I'm really pleased to see it now completed."
The 500-metre section of sealed road, complete with signage and fencing, was opened to traffic in February.
The council has been considering land rezoning in the area over the past year or more, with a view to freeing up more industrial blocks.
In February, 2019 it decided to lodge a planning proposal to rezone almost 300,000 square metres from RU2 rural landscape to IN1 general industrial. A total 176,970sqm belongs to the council while the remainder is owned by a private developer.
A spokesman said Tait Crescent blocks were currently zoned B6 Enterprise Corridor, while land in Lockyer Street was zoned IN2 light industrial.
The council's 2016 Employment Lands Strategy had flagged the general area as suitable for industrial purposes.
"The rural zoning is no longer appropriate in the longer term given surrounding land uses," the document stated.
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A 2017/18 Valuer Generals report also found there was rising demand for industrial land in Goulburn. The Valuer General expected this to continue as investors, including superannuation funds bought up blocks.
In southern Sloane Street, the former Goulburn saleyards site also remains undeveloped. It was not part of the planning proposal.
In the meantime, the Tait Crescent/Lockyer Street link will give local residents a second access to the busy South Goulburn service centre, which frequently sees traffic banked up at the existing entry at the Sowerby/ Hume Street intersection.
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