Warrnambool City and Moyne Shire councils, along with counterparts in the Great South Coast Group, fear that unless the federal government opens its purse strings local infrastructure will fall apart under the volume of heavy traffic.

It is understood VicRoads needs about $100 million just to repair its network back to pre-wind farm era condition. The Moyne Shire needs tens of millions of dollars to fix its local roads. “Some main roads may have to be ripped up and returned to gravel because there are no funds to maintain a proper bitumen surface,” Moyne mayor Cr Jim Doukas said.

“If the federal government wants to claim credit for clean and green projects it needs to put in some real money for local infrastructure. They do it for the mining industry, why not for wind farm projects?”

Warrnambool mayor Cr Jacinta Ermacora said she had been told if all planned wind farms went ahead there would need enough quarry gravel transported to build 2000 kilometres of tracks.

The issue came to the fore again on Monday night when the city council decided unanimously to put a 14-tonne load limit on the flood-damaged Hopkins River bridge on Ziegler Parade, Allansford which is used by trucks carting gravel to the Macarthur wind farm. “It’s a microcosm of what’s happening across our region,” she said.

“Hundreds of trucks carrying wind farm material are going through towns compromising the safety of pedestrians, drivers, cyclists and children.”

Cr Ermacora said the Great South Coast Group of councils was mapping the roads network linked to quarries, wind farms, forests and other major projects as part of its funding push.

Cr Doukas said trucks were bringing material from quarries as far as 100 kilometres to the Macarthur project site.