Worsening traffic bottlenecks at Bulla have prompted renewed pleas for the long-awaited duplication of Sunbury Road, including a bypass of the town.
Complaining that planners have been caught napping as the population on Melbourne’s north-west fringe grows, motorists are calling on the state government to urgently prepare plans to improve traffic flow and reduce crash risks on the undivided rural road, which is used by 26,000 vehicles a day.
Sunbury resident Colin Ellis, who has been using the road for almost 30 years, said something had to be done.
‘‘All these roads from growing communities like Sunbury, Diggers Rest, Romsey and Lancefield … to get to the airport, they all have to come through Bulla,’’ he said.
‘‘The infrastructure has not kept up at all. The bottlenecks at night are just a nightmare; it takes ages to get anywhere.
‘‘This has been going on for six or seven years and it only gets worse,” he said.
Mr Ellis said an 80km/h speed limit introduced in February on the stretch of road between the Tullamarine Freeway and Wildwood Road had improved safety.
But it had also added to the time it takes motorists to get home, he said.
Duplication of Sunbury Road by 2021 was high on a wishlist released by Hume council in the lead-up to last November’s state election.
The road has a history of bad crashes. VicRoads figures show there were 12 casualty crashes, including one fatality and seven serious injuries, in the five years to June 30 last year.
Western Metropolitan Liberal MP Bernie Finn told State Parliament the road was a mess.
He said the duplication and bypass, proposed when John Cain was Premier more than 25 years ago, were long overdue.
‘‘I have seen deaths on Sunbury Road. It’s quite dangerous and often clogged in peak hour.
‘‘The people of north-west Melbourne … have been well and truly patient enough.”
A spokesman for Roads Minister Luke Donnellan said there were no plans to duplicate Sunbury Road.
‘’The speed limits on Sunbury Road were put in place to boost road safety. VicRoads will continue to monitor their effectiveness.’’
