The number of cars using Craigieburn Road has almost trebled in the past 10 years.
Data commissioned by Hume council reveals that the number of drivers using the western section of Craigieburn Road has jumped 146 per cent.
Patronage of the eastern end of the road has also surged, by a more modest 73 per cent.
Hume mayor Adem Atmaca said the east-west connector road had been sufficient when the area was farmland, but it was now struggling to bear the load of one of Australia’s fastest-growing communities.
“More than 27,000 vehicles use Craigieburn Road every day, between Bridgewater and Hanson roads, and drivers are forced to navigate along an arterial, which is largely a single lane in each direction,” he said.
The council is using the statistics to lobby the state and federal governments to duplicate parts of Craigieburn, Mickleham and Somerton roads, large sections of which are single lane.
“More and more motorists use Somerton, Craigieburn, and Mickleham roads every day, and the thoroughfares urgently need to be widened because congestion is at breaking point,” Cr Atmaca said.
The council data shows more than 27,000 cars use Somerton Road between Roxburgh Park Drive and Aitken Boulevard, an increase of 47 per cent over the past 12 years.
Hume council has been calling for the duplication of parts of the three roads for more than five years.
Yuroke MP Ros Spence asked Roads Minister Luke Donnellan in May about the measures taken to reduce congestion on Craigieburn Road.
She was told VicRoads was working with the council on a “corridor study” to identify a suitable road layout for the length of the road between the Hume Highway and the future Outer Metropolitan Ring Road. The study is due for completion by the end of the year.
