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Hutchins pushes Calder Park Drive upgrade

Victorian Roads Minister Terry Mulder has been asked to upgrade of the "dangerous and decaying" Calder Park Drive

Brad Gardner | May 27, 2011

A “dangerous and decaying” road leading directly off Melbourne’s Calder Freeway needs to be urgently upgraded, a Labor MP claims.

Natalia Hutchins, who represents the Keilor electorate, has asked Roads Minister Terry Mulder to step in to address road safety concerns on Calder Park Drive.

Raising the issue in Parliament this week, Hutchins says the road is under significant stress from high traffic levels and that residents are fed up with speeding motorists and trucks.

“Residents are deeply concerned about the safety, the noise levels and the increasing levels of traffic on that road,” Hutchins says.

“In terms of safety, Calder Park Drive was never constructed as a high-traffic road and as a result of high usage in recent years has become very damaged, with potholes and bitumen breaking away at the edges of the road.”

The route runs through the suburbs of Sydenham and Hillside, and Hutchins says poor roadside drainage has softened road edges and created large potholes.

“This road is an extreme hazard in wet weather. The heavy traffic flow does not help the situation. The traffic congestion on the Melton Highway when accessing the Calder Freeway is a major issue for all local residents,” she says.

Hutchins says many residents have problems sleeping due to the constant noise of trucks and motorists.

In a letter to the community-based Calder Action Group, Mulder told it the government will consider making a submission to the Federal Government to fund an interchange between the freeway and Calder Park Drive when the next Nation Building Program begins in 2014-2015.

He says the government will consider safety, amenity and environmental issues when determining the worth of projects.

“Safety improvements to the Calder Freeway will be considered in this context,” Mulder writes.

He says the construction of the Kings Road interchange is due to be completed by mid next year.

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