By Rowan Forster
A deadly thoroughfare responsible for a chunk of Pakenham’s congestion and a harrowing list of fatalities will be upgraded under a Labor State Government cash injection.
Healesville-Kooweerup Road will be duplicated from two to four lanes between the Princes Freeway and Manks Road in a bid to quell traffic woes, slash travel times and reduce accidents.
The pledge – made on Sunday – has been praised by commuters and community advocates, despite years of “inaction”.
Kooweerup resident and road safety campaigner Gary King described the announcement as a “win for people power” and a “step in the right direction”.
“When I started this campaign 18 months ago, following five fatalities over six years, it was obvious that something had to be done,” he said.
“Sadly, the fatalities instigated it all but now it’s a win-win for everybody.
“Every time I hear a siren go off I think it’s another accident on the Kooweerup Road.”
Mr King worked tirelessly in conjunction with Bass MP Brian Paynter and VicRoads to have the fatal road fixed.
While Mr Paynter was thrilled with the commitment, he questioned the timing of the funding.
“That road has become extremely dangerous, congested and inadequate over the years, to the point it has become a bottleneck and a danger to lives,“ he said.
“We’ve been waiting 18 years for this government to spend any money on that road and they’ve finally decided in an election year to do it.“
“During the Liberal government term in 2010-2014, we were building the Pakenham Bypass.“
According to Healesville-Kooweerup Road crash data, 21,000 vehicles travel along it every day, including 4200 trucks.
In the last five years, there have been 35 collisions on the notorious arterial.
Numerous families have spearheaded petitions against Healesville-Koo Wee Rup Road after losing loved ones to hrorrific crashes.
Frankston’s Jess Downs lobbied for all tiers of government to fix the “killer“ road after the death of her brother Ryan in 2016.
The 27-year-old was travelling to his mother’s house along the Pakenham South Road when his life was tragically cut short.
Ms Downs said it was “absolutely amazing“ to hear of the Healesville-Kooweerup Road upgrade.
“It should have been done a long time ago, but it’s so good to see they are doing extensive upgrades,“ she told the Gazette.
“Hopefully this will change and remove the dangers that everybody who drives that road experience daily and prevent future tragedies.“
VicRoads had flagged the hazardous road for duplication works for several years, but a funding shortfall held up the process.
Member for Eastern Victoria Daniel Mulino described it as a significant victory for commuters and road safety in the south-east.
“This upgrade will improve travel times, slash congestion and boost reliability along Healesville-Koo Wee Rup Road for more than 21,000 drivers that rely on this key route each day,” he said.
“Upgrading Healesville-Koo Wee Rup Road will help alleviate growing congestion and give local roads back to local communities.”
Cardinia councillor Michael Schilling also hurled his support behind the announcement, citing the stretch as one of the most complained about roads in the shire.
“With our booming population growth, including the new Pakenham East, this is a much needed development,” he said.
However, concerns have been raised about a potential bottleneck that could arise at the Bald Hill Road intersection – where a new McDonalds is set to open in the coming weeks.
“Hopefully the traffic doesn’t become an issue on that intersection as a result,“ Mr King said.
