The wait for Craigieburn Road to be duplicated is set to continue, with planning studies for the proposed project still under way.
In November 2016, the state government announced it would develop a business case for the duplication, examining the feasibility of upgrading the road from two lanes to four to improve traffic flow as well as safety and connections for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users.
The upgrade, once funded, will result in the arterial road being duplicated between Hanson Road and Aitken Boulevard.
In a recent letter to Northern Metropolitan Liberal MP Craig Ondarchie, Road Minister Luke Donnellan said VicRoads has recently undertaken traffic modeling investigations and had begun initial cultural, European heritage and environmental investigations.
Mr Ondarchie said it was disappointing more work had not been done.
“This letter basically tells the community nothing. The comments amount to nothing more than we will maybe look at it and complete it one day,” he said.
Campaigner Jim Overend, who has been pushing for the duplication for a number of years, said the community was frustrated by the delays.
“We feel like everything was promised isn’t going to happen,” he said.
“We believe the road needs to be duplicated.”
The letter comes as the RACV included the project on a list of more than 100 infrastructure projects it believes need to be urgently funded to address the growing congestion in the outer suburbs.
About 20,000 vehicles use Craigieburn Road daily.
Yuroke MP Ros Spence said she has lobbied for the duplication to be funded in this year’s budget.
“The upgrade of these roads is much needed and overdue and I will continue to push for more investment in local road infrastructure,” she said.
