The timeline for building a proposed bypass of Bulla and the duplication of a section of Sunbury Road is unclear, as the state confirmed that there is no committed funding to deliver the overarching Bulla Bypass project.
In a letter from the Roads and Road Safety Minister Melissa Horne to Hume council, tabled at the March 24 council meeting, Ms Horne confirmed that the Department of Transport (DTP) and Planning received a letter from the council advocating for duplication of Sunbury Road from the end of the Tullamarine Freeway to Oaklands Road.
As previously reported by Star Weekly, the letter followed a notice of motion by former councillor Jack Medcraft at a council meeting last August, where he said that as the road is a single lane with an emergency lane, excessive traffic congestion is created when four lanes of the Tullamarine Freeway merge into one.
In response, Ms Horner she said DTP acknowledges increased growth in the region is placing increasing pressure on the road network and that this particular road duplication is planned to be completed as part of the proposed Bulla Bypass and Outer Metropolitan Ring Road Airport Link projects.
In the letter, Ms Horne said that Major Road Projects Victoria recently completed further planning work for a potential bypass of Bulla, including the development of a business case.
In a second letter from Ms Horne tabled at the March 24 Hume council meeting – responding to a letter from council advocating for the Bulla Bypass project and requesting an update following a notice of motion from mayor Jarrod Bell – she confirmed that there is currently no funding allocated to the project, meaning that the timeline for both of these proposed road upgrades is uncertain.
“The [DTP] continues to work to protect the future Bulla Bypass Corridor and will seek opportunities to deliver this important transport infrastructure in the future,” Ms Horne said in the letter.
“DTP will continue to work with [Hume] to ensure local community issues are incorporated into any future infrastructure developments,” she said.
