By Tom Cowie
In the TV show Utopia, which mocks government infrastructure planning, feasibility studies and business cases are thrown around like confetti.
In the rush to deliver election promises, the state government has not waited for a planning study and business case to be completed before announcing a new bypass will be built near Geelong.
On Friday, Premier Denis Napthine and Transport Minister Terry Mulder pledged $106 million to build the 5.9 kilometre Drysdale Bypass, months after committing to a planning study in this year's budget to fix traffic issues in the area.
The state government chipped in $500,000 to fund the study, which was due to take 12 months to complete, with a business case to be submitted late in 2015 to see if a road would be funded in the future.
Dr Napthine said there was nothing wrong with the timing of the announcement which had "been on the books since 1985".
"It's not a rushed job, let me tell you. And the people of Drysdale would hardly tell you that waiting 30 years for a project has been with undue haste," he said.
When asked if the public could trust the costings without the business case, Mr Mulder said the state government "had every confidence the dollars were right".
He said VicRoads had already acquired land for the project.
"A lot of work has been undertaken prior to that as well, there has been a lot of discussion," he said. "We've got a very good expertise now in costing these roads, we are doing a lot of roads. We have all the information at our fingertips to be able to make the commitment to build this road. VicRoads has scoped and costed the project."
Months earlier, VicRoads said the study was an "important project" and would include community input.
The government said a survey of locals found 70 per cent of respondents believed the road was a priority.
When the study was announced, VicRoads said further community involvement was expected in 2015 as the study progressed and became more detailed.
Another transport study was announced in last year's state budget "investigating the provision of rail services to Drysdale and Torquay".