Two dangerous bridges need major upgrades before West Tarneit Station opens next year, according to a local resident.
Chaitanya Chalasani said the Leakes Road and Davis Road bridges in Tarneit are both dangerous for drivers and pedestrians.
“Both of these bridges have the same problem, no pedestrian access on both sides or lighting on the bridges,” Mr Chalasani said.
“At the moment there is signage on both roads saying prepare to stop, but there are heaps of bushes around it so it’s hardly visible.
“There are a lot of new housing developments across the bridge in West Tarneit that already need to cross over to access the existing [Tarneit] train station and shopping.
“It gets very busy because these are the roads that connect us to Rockbank, Cobblebank and Melton– and it will get busier when the station opens.”
He pointed to the Morris Road Bridge as an example of good planning.
“Morris Road Bridge is the ideal bridge we want with cycling and pedestrian access on both sides and good lighting– it is the perfect design.”
While both roads are managed by Wyndham, council said it has been saddled with a poorly designed road.
“The Davis Road bridge and the Leakes Road bridge were both built by the state government as part of the Regional Rail Link project,” a Wyndham City Spokesperson said.
“As is regularly the case with infrastructure delivered by the state government, the bridge was then handed over to council to maintain.
“Unfortunately, when the bridges were built, the state government didn’t install lighting, nor a path on both sides.
“As the bridges are now on council’s road network, these legacy issues have fallen to council to resolve.
“Both bridges do not have enough space to construct a path on the other side without costly duplication and re-construction of the bridges.
“Due to difficult site constraints, installing lighting on the bridges is problematic and potentially impossible to install suitable street lighting.”
The spokesperson also said the council is investigating how to make the bridges safer and urged pedestrians to not walk on the roads, instead using the footpaths that are available.
The Department of Transport and Planning said any additional upgrades are the responsibility of council.
