Road’s new direction

ONE of Casey’s worst traffic bottlenecks is set to receive a multi-million dollar facelift.
The state government will spend $36.8 million upgrading the intersection at Pound Road and the South Gippsland Highway and Freeway.
A number of improvements at the troubled Pound Road roundabout, which borders Hampton Park, Dandenong South and Lyndhurst, will be undertaken to help ease traffic congestion.
The roundabout will be replaced with traffic signals and the freeway overpass is to be widened to accommodate a third lane.
The freeway entrance and exit ramps will also be upgraded.
Frustrated motorists endure bumper-to-bumper morning traffic as commuters travelling on Pound Road crawl towards the freeway and highway.
In the opposite direction, cars and trucks exiting the freeway are forced to queue hundreds of metres in the emergency lane.
News visited the problematic Pound Road on Wednesday morning, and spoke to motorists caught in the daily jam.
Hampton Park resident Tony said sitting in the traffic was the only way he could access the freeway.
“It takes me about 20 minutes to get to the freeway in the morning, it should be a four or five minute trip,” he said.
“The light sequence gives preference to the vehicles coming off the freeway.”
Narre Warren South resident Tara blamed impatient drivers for most of the problems.
“People drive around the back of Pound Road and then push in at Vanessa Drive when the traffic stops. It’s frustrating for people who sit and wait,” she said.
Narre Warren South MP Judith Graley said the bottleneck is a major source of frustration for Casey motorists.
“I am thrilled that the government has made such a massive investment to improve our local roads.”
“This is a vital corridor that links Berwick and Narre Warren to Dandenong and, via the Monash Freeway, to the city.”