By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
FRUSTRATED motorists who use a congested stretch of the Monash Freeway in Casey may get a reprieve, with the State Government looking into increasing the section from two lanes to three.
Roads Minister Terry Mulder was in Narre Warren last Thursday to announce a review which could see a potential third lane added to the Monash Freeway between the Gippsland Freeway and Clyde Road.
Results from the assessment to determine the cost of the project and the work required for it – including pavement strengthening, drainage, line-marking and signage requirements – are expected to come back to the minister by October.
Preliminary advice from VicRoads has indicated that the shoulders and stopping areas on this section of freeway could be converted into traffic lanes, Mr Mulder said.
If given the green light, it is believed the project would take about 18 months to complete.
“Basically, what we’ve got to do is we’ve got to get the plan, we’ve got to understand the cost and then we’ve got to go to Treasury or go to government and say ‘right, here is our developed project, how do we go about funding this?’,” Mr Mulder said.
“At least we’ll be well informed in terms of putting the case for what would be a significant uplift in traffic movement, for what really is relatively low cost compared to having to build a brand-new lane.”
Mr Mulder said an extra lane would allow authorities to better cope with an emergency situation stemming from a car accident.
“There’s been a lot of worry and concern in the past about emergencies, when people pull over, what this means,” he said.
“Once again, if there is an incident on the road, it’s picked up immediately and the traffic in that lane is stopped, it’s pushed across; the lane is closed because there’s an incident ahead.
“In come the emergency vehicles and clear it and out they go.
“It means you haven’t got a shoulder like this, an emergency lane sitting there that may not be used for long periods of time that could be utilized for day-to-day traffic operations.”
Mr Mulder also left the door open for Federal Government funding to flow into the project.
Cr Sam Aziz has declared the City of Casey’s support for the freeway investigation, flagging the announcement as a “real step for a better quality of life” for residents.
But Narre Warre Warren North MP Luke Donnellan this week questioned the government’s commitment to adding the extra lane.
“The Liberal State Government has had three and a half years to act on the Monash Freeway and now Terry Mulder is telling us he will only think about adding another lane.
“There is no funding for a project to go ahead,” Mr Donnellan said.
“The Napthine Government is yet to complete a single roads project in Casey since coming to power, and there was no new roads funding in the last budget.”
