Cade Lucas
Wyndham will get new schools, road upgrades and health equipment, but train passengers will wait longer for improved services following Tuesday’s state budget.
A new traffic management plan, school and infrastructure upgrades and hefty funding increases for some existing projects are among other benefits Wyndham will receive in a budget that was otherwise defined more by what wasn’t being funded that what was.
With cuts long expect to reel in state debt, the Geelong Fast Rail project was among many projects either delayed or scrapped altogether.
The knock-on effect means a further delay in the Western Rail Plan, which would see lines to Wyndham Vale and Melton electrified, but which is reliant on the Geelong line being built first.
Commuters in Wyndham Vale and Tarneit will at least be able to ride on more modern trains with the classic fleet being retired, though new VLocity trains will only be used on the Melton line rather than services running through Wyndham.
It was better news for road users, with a $120 million upgrade of the Ballan Road intersection to go ahead, while $5 million will be put towards a Wyndham traffic management plan.
The Ison Road rail overpass development however is in limbo.
Its funding is budgeted to jump from from $11 million to $42 million, but the inclusion of federal funding means it could be subject to the Albanese government’s infrastructure review.
Point Cook residents will get new P-9 and specialist schools at Point Cook South, with both set to open by 2026 and the nearby Saltwater P-9 school will have its capacity increased by 2027.
Planning will begin on an upgrade of Manorvale Primary School in Werribee, while existing works at Hoppers Crossing Secondary College, Alamanda College in Point Cook and Warringa Park School in Werribee South all received funding.
Werribee Mercy Hospital will receive a new PET scanner as part of a $44 million statewide program while the expansion of its emergency department gets a$13.5 million boost shared with Casey Hospital.
The construction of the new Wyndham Law Courts gets a mammoth funding increase, rising by over $100 million to $164 million, while an ongoing upgrade at
Werribee Open Range Zoo gets $25.8 million.
A $2 million upgrade of Werribee South boat ramp will also go ahead.
