By Jackson Russell
A major intersection in Wollert will undergo an upgrade as part of a City of Whittlesea plan to cater for rapid growth in the area.
Whittlesea council has begun preparations to place a public acquisition overlay on land around the intersection of Epping Road and Boundary Road/Bridge Inn Road.
Council will seek permission from Planning Minister Richard Wynne to amend the Whittlesea Planning Scheme and aquire land for the upgrade.
The intersection has been identified in the Wollert Precinct Structure Plan as a project to support the development of the area as it does not currently have the capacity to cater for the rapid growth of the area.
According to the council officer’s report, planning permits in the area have been granted before infrastructure key to facilitating the development of the precinct was constructed.
Seven parcels of land are affected by the proposed public acquisition overlay at 480, 490 and 495 Epping Road and 30, 60, 70, and 80 Boundary Road.
The affected areas are narrow strips on each side of the intersection with a total area of about two hectares.
The eastern side of the intersection is also affected by an existing public acquisition overlay for the E6 road-widening project.
The officer’s report said the Boundary Road and Epping Road intersection was already at capacity and was one of the most critical intersections required to be upgraded to support the development of the precinct and the broader transport network.
Council’s partnerships, planning and engagement director Julian Edwards said the intersection was potentially of regional significance and a key cross road for north-south movements along Epping Road and east-west movements along Bridge Inn Road.
“As this precinct, predominantly to the west, continues to grow, demand for traffic movement through there is going to be of greater importance,” he said.
After receiving ministerial approval, the amendment will go through a public exhibition and submission process before returning to council for any further decisions.
Don’t pull those old buildings down! Work around them – they should be a feature of the intersection
I’m pretty sure those property numbers mentioned aren’t the general store, or any of the buildings around it. The general store is 491
Needs traffic lights if driving from wallan to epping it takes forever to get round the round about i have sat there for iver 20 minutes sometimes to get through