Sunbury’s most notorious traffic hotspot – the intersection of Gap Road and Horne Street –will be removed if the Liberals win next year’s state election.
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy has vowed to remove the intersection through grade separation, with one road running over the other.
But improvement is already on the way for the congested intersection, with the Andrews government set to replace the current roundabout with traffic lights early next year.
Roads Minister Luke Donnellan told Star Weekly construction of the $6.4 million upgrade, which will include turning lanes, pedestrian crossings and bike lanes, would start “early next year”, making the spot “safer for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists”.
The Liberals are proposing – if Mr Guy is elected in November, 2018 – that the new traffic lights would be removed to make way for the grade separation.
Mr Guy said community consultation would help determine whether an underpass or overpass was built.
Western metropolitan MP Bernie Finn said grade separation would be a better solution for the traffic congestion.
“The removal of the Gap Road-Horne Street intersection will be celebrated by every Sunbury resident,” he said. “As we all know, it is a real pain in the neck.”
But RACV roads and traffic group manager Dave Jones said traffic lights and a removal of Sunbury’s level crossing was the answer to the town’s traffic woes.
“RACV believes the long-term solution is to signalise the intersection of Gap Road and Horne Street in Sunbury, and to remove the level crossing on Gap Road so that traffic doesn’t queue back into the Horne Street intersection,” Mr Jones said.
Sunbury’s level crossing is not one of Melbourne’s 50 level crossings being removed by the current government.
Hume sustainable infrastructure and services director Peter Waite said the council would need “clear evidence” that grade separation was “the right answer” before supporting the move, but welcomed the opposition’s interest in local projects.
