THE much anticipated Swan Hill drag racing strip has received the green light, with construction planned to be completed by August 2015.
The state government has allocated $2 million to the $2.45 million project, with Swan Hill Rural City Council to contribute $450,000 and the Swan Hill Drag Racing Club to provide in-kind support to the value of $220,000.
The $2 million funding was committed as a pre-election promise by the Coalition Government in the lead-up to the 2010 state election, and has now become a reality — three months out from heading back to the polls in November.
“The particular track that we need, there isn’t one in South Australia or Victoria at the moment at that standard, and we want to be the one that has got that standard of track…”
The redevelopment will see a nationally-accredited quarter mile track built at Chisholm Reserve, to go out to tender before work can begin in coming months.
It is anticipated work will be completed by August 2015.
The project will also involve construction of braking areas, a return road, staging area, pit area, drainage, and concrete safety barriers.
Swan Hill Drag Racing Club president Gary Rovere said once complete, the atmosphere at the track for meets would be “on fire”.
With racers reaching speeds of more than 500km/h in 4.5 seconds, the track would be one of the few in Australia to meet the standards required for those sorts of speeds.
“You need some big safety walls to keep those cars on track,” Mr Rovere told The Guardian.
“They run a national round around Australia and we want that national round to eventually come to Swan Hill — we need this facility for that to happen.
“The particular track that we need, there isn’t one in South Australia or Victoria at the moment at that standard, and we want to be the one that has got that standard of track.”
For the full report, pick up a copy of Friday’s Guardian (August 1).
