By Shelby Brooks
Station Street business owners in Officer say permanently closing the road to traffic will prevent a death from occurring at the “dangerous” level crossing.
Jacqui Chalmers, owner of Rawsons Motors, said she was surprised a driver or pedestrian had not been seriously hurt yet.
“From a perspective of people from the area, this is such a dangerous road,” she told Star News.
“There’s a lack of curbing, the amount of traffic, no footpaths to the train station – there is going to be a death here. I’m surprised that hasn’t already happened.
“I will feel a lot more comfortable when it closes.”
According to the State Government, Station Street in Officer will be closed permanently at the rail line as part of the Level Crossing Removal Project.
For locals who use this level crossing regularly, access north and south of the Pakenham line via the Siding Road underpass will remain open – around 450 metres east of Station Street.
The 1.9km detour takes approximately four minutes.
Drivers can access Princes Highway and Princes Freeway via Brunt Road, where the State Government is also removing the level crossing to improve traffic flow and increase safety.
This 2.8km detour takes approximately five minutes for drivers.
Ms Chalmers said from a business perspective, she wasn’t overly concerned about impact the road closure would have on customers.
Wendy Archer, manager of neighbouring business Sunset Sleepers, agreed the closure would have a low impact on the business.
“We see so many school kids walking from the train station to the school but there’s not footpath along here,” Ms Archer said.
“I feel sick when I see them walking down here.
“Semi-trucks barrel down here and cars fly down. I think the residents and businesses will be happy that will stop.”
According to the Level Crossing Removal Project, the road closure in Officer was decided as the best option to remove the level crossing because it was the fastest solution and would be less disruptive for road and rail users during construction.
There has been six near-misses at the Officer crossing since 2012.
The closure removes the risk of incidents between cars, trains and pedestrians.
Major construction on the Station Street level crossing project will begin in 2024.
The community is invited to provide feedback on the proposed closure at Station Street Officer through engage.vic.gov.au by 11.59pm on Sunday 30 October.
