24 Sept 2026
We won’t drive 500 hours and we won’t drive 500 more …. we did the numbers to calculate the driver hours, fuel and vehicle maintenance costs we will save every day of the year if we reduce heavy vehicle travel times over the Causeway by 10 minutes.
Firstly, apologies to the Proclaimers for appropriating their music – it’s an ear worm that’s taken up residence since we did the numbers to calculate the driver hours, fuel and vehicle maintenance costs we will save every day of the year if we reduce heavy vehicle travel times over the Causeway by 10 minutes.
Each day around 3500 heavy vehicles travel across the Causeway – and it’s a journey that either starts, ends or passes through Shepparton’s CBD. It’s incredible that heavy vehicles are rumbling through at 40 kph, constantly stopping and starting for traffic lights, local traffic and even zebra crossings on what is one of the busiest freight corridors in Australia. (A 2001 resource has it as the second busiest)
And we are not ignoring around 32,000 vehicles in total that travel across the Causeway each day. It’s clear Greater Shepparton and Mooroopna are two towns that function as one city. We have much in common with a border town but without the benefits as more of our education, health and community services have consolidated to one side of the river. These vehicle movements represent workforce, services, training and deliveries that are key to our city’s economy and community wellbeing.
2026 marks thirty years since the Shepparton Bypass that included the second river crossing was first proposed. As locals we are very aware of the benefits – but outside the region the failure to prioritise and fully fund a second river crossing to solve this pinch point on the national freight network suggests we still have work to do.
Particularly as we read with envy the delivery of river crossings in regions with fewer heavy vehicle movements. For example, Dubbo’s second river crossing with 2,250 daily heavy vehicles, Echuca-Moama’s is 1,800, and Rockhampton is building a $1.98 billion third river crossing with 2,640 heavy vehicles.
That’s when we rely on some of the insights from our local freight operators, such as every pineapple used on Masterchef travelled through Shepp, 25% of Victoria’s heavy vehicles are registered in Shepp, we are the largest regional source of product through the Port of Melbourne, we are the largest city on Victoria’s largest river, we are the gateway in and out of the Murray Darling Basin and the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District, and as a result… we are the most important intersection on Australia’s east coast.
So back to the numbers - if 3,500 heavy vehicles reduce their travel time by 10 minutes we would reduce total driver hours by 583 hours each day – or a saving of 24 days every 24 hours. Fuel costs are harder to estimate but roughly speaking a truck stop-starting its way through Shepparton’s CBD will use around 30% more diesel per kilometre than on the highway.
These are costs that go directly to the prices on supermarket shelves across the nation and eat into our export competitiveness. As state and federal governments increasingly look for ways to boost productivity and economic growth, to tackle costs of living, and we continue to face eyewatering petrol and diesel prices a second river crossing is an obvious option that’s ready to go.
This column appeared in Shepparton News https://www.sheppnews.com.au/voices/rising-costs-productivity-lets-build-a-bridge-and-get-over-it/