By Shelby Brooks
Concerns have been raised by Pakenham candidates surrounding the plan to permanently block Station Street in Officer at the train line.
Pakenham Independent candidate Brett Owen has called for another road connection in Officer to replace the soon-to-be closed Station Street.
As part of the State Government’s Level Crossing Removal Works, the rail crossing will be closed by 2025, directing traffic to re-route to Siding Avenue and Brunt Road as alternative crossing points.
This will add to motorist’s journeys and create new congestion points, Mr Owen said.
“We need an alternate route over the railway line – it can’t just be Siding Avenue and Brunt Road,” he said.
“The Officer Structure Plan talks about a new North/South arterial road. An extension of Bayview Road to Bridge Road/Officer South Road intersection and then on to the Monash Freeway on/off ramps.
“This is a State Government responsibility, and I will be advocating that this new road connection from the intersection of Bayview Road though to Officer South Road be constructed before the Station Street level crossing is removed.”
Mr Owen said it was necessary to create an alternative route to cross the railway given the increasing traffic in the area due to ongoing population growth and development.
He said it was also coupled with the fact traffic will be drawn off the Monash Freeway via the new on/off ramps to the freeway.
Works are still underway on the Monash Freeway ramps at Officer South Road, with the ramps expected to open in late-2022.
Liberal candidate David Farrelly has also spoken out about the issue, saying the recent State Government announcement would mean Officer residents would find it harder to get into town.
“This amazing duplicated road that is being built right now will not have access to the Princes Highway. You will have to weave around all the suburban streets to get to the other side,” he said.
“That is insane.
“We need to have a proper approach for planning the Officer community to have easy access to our roads.”
Labor candidate Emma Vulin was contacted for comment.
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 Avenue 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.
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.
