Push is on for fast lane

By Melissa Meehan
A PUSH is on for an extra lane to be added to the Monash Freeway as residents tire of long delays and traffic chaos thanks to car accidents on a weekly basis.
This week the State Government confirmed that they have approached the Federal Government to co-fund a program called Manage Motorways which would see the Monash Freeway widened all the way out to Clyde Road.
Despite being a growth corridor, the south eastern end of the Monash Freeway (which passes through Berwick, Officer and Pakenham) dwindles down to two lanes from four at the South Gippsland Freeway – leaving residents stuck in gridlock if there is an accident on either side of the road.
Last week residents from Pakenham and surrounding towns said they had had enough, demanding the State Government introduce an extra lane on the freeway.
Resident Mick Brook said he believed the congestion on the Monash Freeway would only get worse without adding a lane.
“They expect over 28,000 people moving into Officer in the next few years,” he said.
Fellow resident Chris McCormick agreed, saying that the government seemed to plan infrastructure like roads and public transport to see them through til the next election instead of planning long term.
Linda Edwards said adding extra lanes wouldn’t stop accidents but more lanes and better planning would help reduce the ridiculous congestion they created now.
Spokesman for Minister of Transport Terry Mulder, Larissa Garvin said the government had put in a submission to Infrastructure Australia seeking monetary support from the Federal Government.
“It’s just too big a job for the State Government to fund themselves,” Ms Garvin said.
“The National Managed Motorways proposal includes rolling out initiatives such as priority access for certain vehicle types, varied speed limits depending on traffic and environmental conditions, and managing incidents by using, for example, traffic sensing equipment. This approach has already been implemented in Victoria as part of the M1 Upgrade and is currently being implemented as part of the M80 Upgrade.”
She said the Auditor General last year slammed the previous government and VicRoads for not building three lanes and only building for the population at the time and not the projected growth of the area.