Ararat Rural City Council’s commitment to improving urban infrastructure throughout the municipality remains steadfast, as two more important projects are launched.

Vital drainage infrastructure maintenance is currently underway at Wilson Street in Ararat, commencing at the Baird Street end and continuing through to Campbell Street. 

These renewal works will assist with stormwater drainage, reducing the amount of road maintenance required and improve the overall safety of the road. Following the completion of the kerb and channel works, the road will be resurfaced. 

The Wilson Street works are supported by the Federal Government under the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure (LRCI) Program, which provides support to all Australian councils to deliver priority local road and community infrastructure projects, and Ararat Rural City Council’s Capital Works Program.

A second major drainage upgrade is in progress on Ararat’s Queen Street. The placing of large-sized pipework has begun at the Blake Street intersection, to be followed by kerb and pavement works at the MacLean Street intersection, with all following works confined to the nature strip. These works will convey water from the new housing development, and further upstream of the subdivision it neighbours. They will also alleviate the growing pressure on the system further downstream of the network, and are fully funded by Council’s Capital Works Program.

Both the Wilson Street and Queen Street projects are part of Council’s comprehensive Urban Drainage Program, an initiative specifically targeting improvements to its vast drainage network. As identified in Council’s Asset Plan 2022-32, this initiative aims to improve the capacity of our urban drainage system to manage higher rainfall events and implement improvements to areas with long-term drainage issues.

"Our urban drainage network is critical infrastructure in safeguarding the quality of our roads," says Dr Tim Harrison, CEO of Ararat Rural City Council. "Council is committed to improving road capacity and reliability through continuous investment and maintenance as part of our Capital Works Program."

More information about Council’s 2024-25 Capital Works Program is available on our website.