Wednesday, 9 February 2022

Wollert road infrastructure

Mr ONDARCHIE (Northern Metropolitan) (18:01): (1722) The adjournment I have for this evening is a matter for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety. Wollert residents are concerned about the traffic and the congestion and the time it takes them to get to work, and I want to thank the many residents who responded to my recent Wollert community survey. Every morning residents in Wollert experience choked roads and frustration as traffic is banked up. Residents have told me that Epping Road and Craigieburn Road East are just a nightmare when trying to get to work on time, and in the evening it is difficult for them to get home to see their families in time.

Previously in this place I have raised the delays in the Epping Road duplication, how the delays are affecting my residents and how this upgrade needs to be brought forward. It was promised in 2018, but now the government has said, ‘Oh we’ll probably finish it around 2025’. Well, that is not good enough, so the action that I seek from the minister, by directing transport to do something right now even if they cannot start the road immediately, is to investigate in the short-term the light sequencing and the safety at the intersections where Epping Road crosses Craigieburn Road East and Harvest Home Road and review the safety of the roundabout at Bridge Inn Road and Epping Road so that my residents can get home safely and spend more time with their families and less time in traffic.