Supporting local business and community initiatives, Major Road Projects Victoria has bought 300 native plants from Pakenham-based Cardinia Environment Coalition.
The Healesville-Kooweerup Road Upgrade will plant out over a 100 square metres of landscaped areas near the Deep Creek roundabout, with the plants purchased locally to support this local enterprise.
The team is set to plant a variety of trees and shrubs to re-establish vegetation that was previously present in the landscape, which will provide habitat for a suite of local animal species.
“Local projects buying local native plants from a local nursery – it’s great to support a phenomenal community organisation like Cardinia Environment Coalition on the Healesville-Kooweerup Road Upgrade,“ Major Road Projects Victoria Program director Marc Peterson said.
“Replanting these areas after works are complete helps to re-establish habitat and habitat corridors for threatened species found locally such as the Growling Grass Frog and Southern Brown Bandicoot.“
Cardinia Environment Coalition is a not-for-profit nursery and supply significant indigenous plant stock for large-scale projects. A volunteer organisation, the coalition is always on the lookout for further hands to help it grow – for further information visit their website: cecinc.net.au
In other Healesville-Kooweerup Road Upgrade news, weather permitting, by the end of May more lanes will be open when the new second bridge over Deep Creek opens.
From 21 May to 6 June, there will be some disruptions to traffic including daytime closures of Healesville-Kooweerup Road while the project team completes asphalting between Greenhills Road and Manks Road with detours in place.
Major works on the project are on track to be completed in July, when two lanes in each direction will be open between Ballarto and Manks roads.
When complete, the Healesville-Kooweerup Road Upgrade will be completed months ahead of the scheduled 2025 completion date and provide the Cardinia community with safer trips between Pakenham and Kooweerup.
On the Pakenham Roads Upgrade, crews completed asphalting works on the Princes Freeway this past weekend as part of building the new Gippsland-bound freeway lane between McGregor Road and Healesville-Kooweerup Road.
Next week, the Pakenham Roads Upgrade will reach a major milestone on the project, opening the new Gippsland-bound freeway entry ramp on McGregor Road to traffic. The new ramp will complete the full diamond freeway interchange on McGregor Road, making it easier to move around Pakenham and travel towards Gippsland.
In the coming weeks, the Pakenham Roads Upgrade will begin the next stages of major work to upgrade the freeway interchanges on Healesville-Kooweerup Road to traffic light intersections. Long-term traffic changes will be in place as traffic moves to temporary lanes on the northern Healesville-Kooweerup Road freeway interchange and turning movements at the interchange are limited.
Works at the intersection of McGregor Road, Henry Road and Webster Way are also progressing to the next stage, with crews focused on upgrading the Henry Road leg of the intersection. To allow these upgrade works, Henry Road will be closed between McGregor Road and Heritage Boulevard from mid-May to early July.
