Elsie Lange
Ballooning travel times, inadequate traffic signals and poor timing are some of the reasons residents are outraged by the two-month-long closure of the intersection of Craigieburn and Mickleham roads.
The intersection will be closed for two months until Monday, April 11 as part of works on the Craigieburn Road upgrade, but Hume councillor Naim Kurt said the resulting congestion creates “a lot of problems” for the community.
“It’s bedlam on the roads at the moment, with the closure of the intersection,” Cr Kurt said.
“It’s taking some of our residents up to 30 minutes just to travel a kilometre down the road, causing a lot of congestion, which is a nightmare for communities who don’t have a lot of access to public transport.”
Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV) project director Dipal Sorathia said they were removing the existing roundabout to increase safety and traffic flow for the motorists who use Craigieburn Road every day.
“Crews will compact 11 months of work over eight weeks – to add lanes, install lights and build new walking and cycling paths – bringing us a step closer to seeing Craigieburn Road evolve into the link the community needs and deserves,” Mr Sorathia said.
The upgrade blitz is happening now to minimise impact on the endangered Golden Sun Moth’s upcoming breeding season, reported by Star Weekly in January.
But Cr Kurt said there’s frustration at the timing of the closure and that it should have been done over the Christmas break, or last year when residents were in lockdown and cars weren’t on the road.
“It’s important to look after the native wildlife, but we need to understand as well that people are affected by this,” Cr Kurt said.
Residents have taken to social media to voice their concerns over the upgrade, with one saying her 15 minute school drop-off drive has turned into a one hour round trip, twice a day.
“Never wanted to homeschool again as much in my life,” the resident said.
“Shutting down a major intersection in an already poorly infrastructured area is just yet another example of the lack of planning and foresight by Vicroads,” another said.
Cr Kurt said council has spoken with MRPV to have traffic light sequences addressed along detour routes with a hope to ease some of the congestion.
“Had this been the eastern suburbs, or somewhere else in Melbourne, there would have been more planning, more foresight and more consultation as well, but the fact that it hasn’t occurred in this instance is a bit disappointing and leaves residents feeling frustrated,” Cr Kurt said.
