By Brendan Rees
A $130 million duplication of Berwick-Cranbourne Road will be built if the Coalition wins this month’s state election.
In a bid to get “traffic back under control,” the Liberals have pledged to duplicate 6.4 km of the Berwick – Cranbourne Road from Thompsons Road to Narre Warren – Cranbourne Road to ensure traffic keeps moving during peak times.
With the population of Cranbourne East/ Clyde area tipped to hit more than 143,000 people in 2041, Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said Daniel Andrews had allowed “unchecked population growth choke our streets and growth areas like Cranbourne and Clyde North are feeling the effects.”
“At this election, Victorians will have a clear choice. Victorians can choose more of the same catch-up, band-aid ideas from Daniel Andrews, or they can choose my comprehensive plan to invest in vital infrastructure projects like duplicating our major arterial roads,” he said.
Liberal Candidate for Cranbourne, Ann Marie Hermans said: “Everyone in our community that I speak to tells me the local population squeeze is putting enormous stress on our roads, public transport, schools, hospitals and police and that impacts everyone’s quality of life.”
Casey Mayor Cr Amanda Stapledon said the announcement was a “testament to the both sides of politics commitment to deal with congestion and population growth in Casey.”
Both sides of politics have committed to deliver a combination of road widening, intersection upgrades and Cranbourne Rail upgrades, which equates to well over $1 billion of dollars invested in Casey.
“It is now up to the Andrews Government to match this latest announcement to fix our roads,” Cr Stapledon said.
Reverend David Powys, who recently hung his protest painting outside St. John’s Anglican Church in Cranbourne that depicts the abandoned rail track to Cranbourne East, said he was pleased to see progress but will continue advocating until we see real change.
“Council have left no stone unturned to advocate on behalf of residents for better services and infrastructure,” Mr Powys said.
“While the announcements from politicians are a step in the right direction, residents will not stop advocating until we see real change.”
With the Federal election around the corner Cr Stapledon said council will also be seeking commitments from the Federal Government and candidates to invest in services and infrastructure for Casey’s growing population.
The Coalition will fund the construction by adding the duplication of Berwick – Cranbourne Road to the existing South Eastern Roads Package funded in the 2018 State Budget. The South Eastern Roads Package will now include eight arterial roads in this area.
Minister for roads Luke Donnellan said the last time the Liberals were in power they didn’t deliver a single new arterial road in Cranbourne – “they just sacked 450 VicRoads staff and slashed the maintenance budget for the whole south east.”
“We’re already fixing Thompsons Road, early works have started on the Hallam Road upgrade, and we’re widening the Monash and removing dangerous and congested level crossings,” he said.
The Andrews Labor Government’s $207 million Thompsons Road upgrade is well underway, duplicating 10.7km of road between Dandenong-Frankston Road and Berwick-Cranbourne Road – and we’ve already removed the Thompson’s Road level crossing.
The State Government’s $207 million Thompsons Road upgrade is underway, duplicating 10.7 kilometres of road between Dandenong-Frankston Road and Berwick-Cranbourne Road –with the Thompson’s Road level crossing already removed.
