Wyndham City gets to work on road upgrades

Detailed design and early works will begin in coming months to upgrade some of Wyndham’s busiest roads as part of a $20.5 million Council spend on road improvements, maintenance and traffic management.

Wyndham City is investing $1 million in 2020/21 to begin early service relocation works for the duplication of Tarneit Road between Sayers and Leakes roads from one lane in each direction to two and to upgrade the intersection at Tarneit and Leakes roads.  

Wyndham City Mayor and Growth and Transport portfolio holder Cr Josh Gilligan said this project would increase the capacity of Tarneit Road and reduce traffic congestion, getting residents home sooner.

“As our community grows, so too does the number of vehicles on our roads,” Cr Gilligan said.

“We know that Tarneit Road is often gridlocked, that’s why we’re funding this important upgrade, which builds on the duplication works already done along this stretch.”

Council is also investing $1.5 million for the detailed design of the Boundary Road and Derrimut Road intersection upgrade in Tarneit.

Cr Gilligan said prior to the introduction of COVID-19 restrictions, more than 25,000 vehicles travelled through this intersection every day.

“Increasingly, frustrated drivers are making dangerous manoeuvres as a result of growing peak hour congestion, which has resulted in a high collision rate at this intersection,” Cr Gilligan said.

“Although the use of portable traffic lights since late March has helped to substantially reduce the number of crashes at this intersection, more needs to be done to improve the traffic congestion and safety along this busy stretch, particularly as our city continues to grow.”

“Council will continue to work with transport partners, including Melton City Council and the Department of Transport, on future opportunities to improve safety at this intersection.”

Cr Gilligan said improving local roads was one of the key priorities of the 2020/21 Council budget, which was adopted earlier this month.

“This includes $11.75 million to reconstruct and resurface various local roads throughout the municipality,” Cr Gilligan said.

“Meanwhile, the $3 million we’ve already committed towards the signalisation of Point Cook and Sneydes roads is still on the table, and we will continue to work with the Department of Transport to deliver a solution for this intersection in the long-term.”

Wyndham City is responsible for upgrading and maintaining neighbourhood roads, while the State Government is responsible for delivering major roads, including highways.

Learn more about Wyndham’s larger-scale road projects by visiting https://www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/services/major-projects

Keep up-to-date with Council’s numerous road upgrades by visiting Council’s capital works dashboard: https://www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/capitalworksdashboard