Casey Council has made a strong stance that it will not be the lead delivery agency for eight intersection projects in two new precincts in the south, citing the Ballarto Road roundabout cost blowout.
According to the draft Casey Fields South Employment and Devon Meadows Precinct Structure Plan (PSP), the eight intersection projects are located on Clyde-Five Ways Road and the South Gippsland Highway, which are declared arterial roads under the authority of the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP).
The objection to Council as the lead delivery agency has been included in the Council’s submission on the draft PSP.
The submission was endorsed at the May Council Meeting.
In its submission, Council articulates the financial management obligations imposed on Council by the State Government legislation and the financial risks to Council of delivering a project where other parties, such as the DTP and service authorities, are in control of the approval process for that project.
“Where Council has delivered intersection projects on a State Road, the DTP and service authorities have imposed additional design requirements and delayed approvals, which have significantly escalated project costs and required Council to fund these additional costs via rate revenue,” Council states.
Council believes that the identification of the DTP as the lead agency for the delivery of the relevant intersection projects reflects DTP being the approval authority for these projects.
At the May Meeting, Cranbourne Gardens Ward Councillor Michelle Crowther referred to the South Gippsland Ballarto Road roundabout project as to why the council was not the best agency to lead state road projects.
“There have been significant delays and cost blowouts on the Ballarto Road roundabout, and ratepayers have funded the additional costs associated with this project,” she said.
“I acknowledge, hear, and share the frustration of the community with this project and want to avoid this situation again. It would be a financial risk for the council to take on another eight state road projects.”
The roadwork at the South Gippsland Highway and Ballarto Road roundabout has been a recurring nightmare for Cranbourne and the surrounding community, as the construction has been going on for more than two years.
The construction was initially scheduled to begin in late 2018 and be completed by June 2019. However, Council revealed delays with VicRoads due to design change requirements as well as ongoing State Government projects in the area. The construction works eventually started in March 2023.
In early October last year, Star News reported that the roundabout construction had exceeded its original $11 million budget by roughly $2 million. And it was hit with another delay, with an expected completion day in July this year.
According to Casey Council, the cost overrun was due to “significant underground stabilisation and extended project timelines,” which were unexpected but necessary to meet construction standards.
Casey Council states its submission that if the future approved PSP maintains Council as the lead agency, Council will not deliver these intersection projects.
“Officers will provide infrastructure contributions to developers to deliver these intersection projects, but will not contribute rates revenue,” the Council states.
Council made a similar stance on road projects identified in another precinct plan late last year.
It called on the DTP to fund the intersection projects on declared arterial roads in the Croskell Employment Precinct, after the DTP maintained that the Council should be the development agency responsible for those projects.
DTP was contacted for comment.
