Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell is furious about the State Government’s plan to duplicate a small section of Donnybrook Road, instead calling for the full duplication.
Donnybrook Road contains some of the worst traffic flow and congestion in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.
Ms Lovell claims the State Government’s approval of thousands of homes in that area before building the right infrastructure is to blame.
Local residents have been left disappointed by the recent joint announcement to build a second bridge over the Hume instead of a full scaled project to replicate the road.
“Local residents feel totally let down by Labor’s announcement that it will only duplicate a small section of Donnybrook Road – this will not fix congestion, it will just push the bottleneck from the bridge over the freeway further down to Dwyer Street,” Ms Lovell said.
Persistent failures of the boom gates at the train level crossing, together with the road closures caused by traffic accidents and truck breakdowns are starting to highlight the need to change the entry and exit point for the housing estates on the eastern side of the railway line.
“I urge the Minister to come back with a better plan and fund the full duplication of Donnybrook Road.”
Member for Yan Yean Lauren Kathage has responded saying there are upgrades for the whole corridor.
“We’ve planned for upgrades for the whole corridor and have already begun site investigation works for the first two stages,” Ms Kathage said.
“Only Labor is building the roads families need – Jess Wilson’s Liberals have no plan, just $40 billion worth of cuts.”
Upgrades to Donnybrook road are being delivered in stages, to minimise to the disruptions to the community.
Contstruction timing will be known once the pre-construction has further progressed and a construction partner is appointed.