MOORABOOL mayor Pat Griffin has accused the state government of having a conflict of interest in Bacchus Marsh's contentious Avenue of Honour roadworks debate.

Cr Griffin said he found it "very interesting" that Planning Minister Matthew Guy was a member of the National Trust.

"The National Trust has been the chief protagonist in this. Now, as a local councillor, it would be a huge conflict of interest if, say, I was a member of the local football club. I wouldn't be able to make any decision on the club."

Cr Griffin said he and council chief executive Rob Croxford had met Mr Guy's staff on the Monday before the decision was made.

In the meeting, Cr Griffin argued that the council was protecting the avenue and putting more money into it.

"We lobbied hard for a federal grant of $500,000 for the avenue. The state government and the National Trust haven't given us a cent.

"The minister has to understand council has a lot of pressure on it to fix the traffic problems. We have 140,000 trucks rumbling through Main Street every year, so it's a safety issue, too.

"We'll now be waiting for the minister to come to us with these supposed alternatives. We explored alternatives, but the fact is that there aren't any."

Cr Griffin said alternatives raised by the Avenue Preservation Group had been examined by the council, but they could cause environmental damage to the Werribee River and river red gum trees, and potentially destroy agriculture businesses and houses.

Mr Guy's spokesman, Nicholas McGowan, said the minister did not view his membership of the non-profit organisation as a conflict of interest.

"He has declared it openly and publicly and made his decision solely on heritage aspects, regardless of his membership.

"What's critical is providing a solution rather than trying to besmirch one another. It's time to get on with the job."

He said Roads Minister Terry Mulder would take over the problem of finding a viable traffic solution.