Mortlake residents rejoice after Earth and Water Technologies owner Tim Clingan gives $120,000 to upgrade road

Earth and Water Technologies owner Tim Clingan said a resident of Waters Lane approached him after their discussions about road upgrades stalled with Moyne Shire Council.

Mr Clingan's business, which includes a quarry, gained work last year from the South Mortlake Wind Farm, and he saw the road as an opportunity to commit about $120,000 worth of labour and equipment back to the town.

"We wanted to make sure the community got something directly back from the wind farm project," he said.

"There's a lot of noise about the wind farms sometimes, but not a lot left on the ground for the community."

Moyne Shire Council policy normally requires a 50 per cent contribution from adjoining landholders for a road to be sealed, which Mr Clingan's contribution has covered.

The council will cover the remaining half, including materials and sealing costs.

Resident Peter Cole said he was "over the moon" when he heard the road would be sealed after a six-year push to have it upgraded.

"It blew me away - an outsider is putting money in. I took my hat off to him," Mr Cole said.

He said the unsealed road had created ongoing grievances for residents.

"The dust all of the time, the houses get full of it," Mr Cole said.

Mr Clingan said he also had a personal motivation for upgrading the road, after his son was involved in a crash there more than 20 years ago.

"My son was injured in the late 90s. He was hit by a car, it was a dangerous intersection and I was keen to see we could finally get something done about that," he said.

"The accident had a lasting impact on us as a family and him personally. Hopefully this is a positive that comes from these things."

The upgrade will go a way towards making the road safer, Mr Clingan said, after he noticed an increase in truck traffic on intersecting Boundary Road.

The works will widen the 850 metre-long road to 6.5 metres and level a crest near the intersection that affected driver sight lines.

Moyne Shire mayor Daniel Meade said the project supported council goals of improving road safety and he highlighted the contractor made a "significant contribution".

"This road project highlights a great partnership," he said. "It is now more important than ever that we work together to drive economic growth."

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