Elsie Lange
Hume council will write to the state government about the “disrepair” of Sunbury Road, due to heavy loads, grime and lack of lighting.
At a meeting on Tuesday, June 14, councillor Jack Medcraft raised a general business item to ask Roads and Roads Safety Minister Ben Carroll to look into the damage to the road, which he said was caused by “heavy loads being taken to Hi-Quality”.
In the correspondence, Cr Medcraft would like to address the lack of road markings due to “soil residue”, the absence of reflective indicators on concrete road barriers and lack of lighting on Bulla Bridge.
In addition, Cr Medcraft requested the council ask for greater police presence to “monitor the speeds of trucks coming and going to Hi-Quality”, while Cr Jarrod Bell added council should advocate for the duplication of Sunbury Road.
“That road is being repaired, I know, and they are going to do both sides of it,” Cr Medcraft said.
“But the number of trucks that are going along there, and the weight of those trucks – the bitumen is just falling apart.
“It’s a 60km/h speed limit from the top of the hill through to pretty much where Villawood [Estate] is, but you can’t see the barriers.
“They’ve got these little poles to guide the trucks into Hi-Quality, they all run along there, but they’re all covered in dirt, grime, so you can’t see them until you’re right on top of them.”
Cr Medcraft said it was “only a matter of time” before someone with poor eyesight hit a barrier, and raised in particular the part of Sunbury Road behind the airport.
In mid-June, Star Weekly reported a number of drivers struggling on Sunbury Road due to dirt covering road markings.
Cr Medcraft the issue was initially raised by a resident and he was pleased to take the item to the minister.
