EPPING North residents will be waiting a long time for major road improvements – more than 30 years, according to Roads Minister Terry Mulder.
In a letter to Labor’s Yan Yean MLA Danielle Green, Mr Mulder gave the date of 2046 as the timeframe for three key projects.
Although Ms Green and regional lobbyists thought the 33-year schedule was a typographical error, a VicRoads spokesman confirmed the authority believed that was the date when the projects were needed.
The Epping North projects are the O’Herns Road-Hume Freeway interchange to allow traffic to leave the freeway, the O’Herns Road duplication and the Edgars Road extension, which the Aurora Community Association has been lobbying to be built as soon as possible.
“When we saw the letter and that it would take another 33 years, we were shocked,” association president Toni-Marie Wuelfert said.
“These projects need to happen straight away.”
Ms Green said the 2046 date was “absolutely laughable”.
“It shows the minister has no idea about the growth pressures in the north.”
Ms Green said the Liberal state government did not include any northern suburbs road projects in its submission to Infrastructure Australia, the federal funding agency.
“We’re just a black hole,” she said.
Mr Mulder’s letter was in reply to petitions regarding the road works and other matters raised by Ms Green in parliament in December.
VicRoads spokesman Travers Purton said that the 2046 start date was correct.
“Network modelling suggests that by 2046 the O’Herns Road interchange and duplication, and the extension of Edgars Road will be required,” he said.
