Australian-made horsepower stopped to rev it up over another Australian-made icon this week with Monaro enthusiasts touring Healesville-Kooweerup Road.
The Holden Monaro Club of Victoria took part in a special drive on Monday with 16 Monaros taking part in the drive from Kooweerup to Pakenham across the new-look Healesville-Kooweerup Road – which completed construction in August 2024.
“Great bit of fun to come out here to Pakenham and have 16 Monaros from the club touring the town,” Monaro Club of Victoria president Trevor Male said.
“Nothing like seeing Australia’s phenomenal car history take to these brand new roads and cruise around the south east.”
Major Road Projects Victoria invited the Monaro Club to drive through the new-look Healesville-Kooweerup Road to celebrate the improvements to the area, with a number of highly-coveted cars making the trip.
“It’s great to see some passionate enthusiasts take their Monaros across the safer and smoother Healesville-Kooweerup Road,” Major Road Projects Victoria Program Director Brendan Pauwels said.
“These upgrades in the south east aren’t just for everyday travel – these magnificent machines don’t need to worry about narrow one-way roads heading into Pakenham as we’ve expanded Healesville-Kooweerup Road and built the new bridge over the Princes Freeway.”
As part of the Healesville-Kooweerup Road Upgrade and Pakenham Roads Upgrade Stage 1, MRPV have duplicated lanes on Healesville-Kooweerup Road between Manks Road in Kooweerup and Peet Street in Pakenham.
This road duplication includes a new bridge over the Princes Freeway and upgraded traffic light intersections replacing the roundabouts at the Healesville-Kooweerup Road freeway interchange.
These upgrades from the projects have improved traffic flow and safety across 11 kilometres of Healesville-Kooweerup Road in Melbourne’s south east.
These projects are part of wider investment in transport infrastructure in Pakenham, which includes completed projects such as the Pakenham Roads Upgrade’s Stage 1 and 2, the Healesville-Kooweerup Road upgrade and Pakenham becoming level crossing free with the skybridge spanning former crossings at McGregor Road, Main Street and Racecourse Road.
Major works on Stage 3 of the Pakenham Roads Upgrade are in progress, with crews hard at work to upgrade the roundabout at the intersection of Racecourse Road and Bald Hill Road to a traffic light intersection, to improve traffic flow and journey reliability for Pakenham.
The project will also continue the duplication of Healesville-Kooweerup Road/Racecourse Road between Peet Street and Henry Street, ultimately providing two lanes in each direction between Henry Street in Pakenham and Manks Road in Kooweerup.
Pedestrians and cyclists are also set to benefit from the project, with new shared walking and cycling paths being built through the project area connecting to the recently upgraded Pakenham Station.
Across the Big Build in Pakenham, 12 kilometres of shared walking and cycling paths will improve connectivity and safety for pedestrians and cyclists.
