The planned Bulla bypass and link to Melbourne Airport has failed to get off the ground.
Planning Minister Richard Wynne last week blocked VicRoads’ plans for a new six-lane freeway to the airport from the north, and a bypass of Bulla, because the roads would divide several rural properties and slice through a national reserve.
Mr Wynne rejected the advice of a panel of planning experts that land for the freeway should be reserved now for future compulsory acquisition.
The Melbourne Airport link – a proposed extension of the Tullamarine Freeway towards Sunbury – along with the Bulla bypass, could make access to the airport and the CBD from the north-western fringe easier by taking pressure off Sunbury Road.
About 25,000 vehicles a day use the two-lane, undivided road, which makes a steep and dangerous S-bend through a deep gully and crosses Bulla Bridge, a narrow bluestone creek crossing that was built in 1869.
Western Metropolitan MP Bernie Finn, a Bulla resident, lashed out at the government’s rejection of the bypass.
“At a time when we are genuinely pushing for some measure to alleviate what is becoming strangling congestion, we have a government that continues to show its disdain for Sunbury,” Mr Finn said.
“It’s staggering that VicRoads has recommended that the project go ahead but for the government to knock it back … I think it’s a disgrace.”
“Some of us have been fighting for the Bulla bypass to go ahead for more than 25 years.
“We need some relief in the morning. It can take up to 30 minutes to get off Sunbury Road onto the Calder.
“The traffic is quiet up to about two kilometres over Bulla Hill and then motorists are stuck.”
Mr Wynne’s decision means VicRoads must return to the drawing board.
Mr Wynne said the proposed route would have created too much hardship for property owners in its path and risked making some equestrian farms unviable.
“We know there is a need for the Bulla bypass as Melbourne’s west continues to grow,” he said.
“We need a solution which delivers a new road with minimal impact to surrounding properties.
“I have asked that other options be investigated.”
Under the proposed plan, 37 properties faced acquisition, with 17 of them to have been divided by the road.
Among affected properties would be Living Legends at Woodlands Park, where many retired champion racehorses are kept.
Living Legends manager Andrew Clarke said the decision to reject the VicRoads’ proposal was welcome news.
“It definitely would have affected people’s access to Living Legends,” Mr Clarke said.
“It just would have made it more complicated to get here and that would have had an impact on the business.”
The Age
