The design of a major freeway bypass on the Calder Highway, a major route northwards from Melbourne, triggered an Environmental Effects Statement. In Woodend, one of the townships proposed to be bypassed, there was community concern about the severing of traditional traditional, historic and cultural linkages between the township and the surrounding rural areas. There were two bypass options: one to the west and one to the east, each potentially blocking some traditional transport, administrative, economic and trade and cultural/social links. With the community already divided and tensions high, historical research was the adopted method, with physical travel routes considered to offer the best evidence of linkages within the district. Two individual properties were also assessed to determine any likely impacts on their heritage values. The results were presented to an Independent Panel convened to consider the bypass options.