Safety on a busy stretch of Sunbury’s Gap Road will be greatly improved, with work to install traffic lights starting last week.
A crossing will also be installed near the intersection of Gap Road and Elizabeth Drive, giving pedestrians a safer route to bus stops and a nearby shopping centre that includes a supermarket and cafes.
Shopping centre spokesman Mick Sheehan said that with about 18,000 cars using Gap Road daily, the long-awaited project would make the lives of people moving around on foot much easier.
“It can be a very hard spot to cross,’’ he said.
“This is going to make things a lot safer.”
Sunbury-based Hume councillors Ann Potter and Jack Medcraft were among those who welcomed the start of works, coming after years of lobbying from residents.
Cr Medcraft said people had long feared that it was only a matter of time before there was a major accident at the site.
“With all that traffic on that stretch, it’s been a nightmare,” he said.
“It’s one that’s been raised with councillors by many people for many years.
“I’m sure there’ll be a little bit of disruption to traffic in the short term, but in the end it’s something that’s going to be very welcome.”
A $6.4 million project to install traffic lights, turning lanes and crossings at the nearby intersection of Gap Road and Horne Street is expected to start mid to late next year.
