Wyndham traffic: Clogged arteries, 21 roads above capacity

Congestion on Wyndham’s already gridlocked arterial road network continues to worsen, with 21 roads across the city running above capacity, according to a new council survey.

The Review of 2014 Traffic Volumes in Wyndham report reveals 17 of the roads are the responsibility of VicRoads, including Forsyth Road in Hoppers Crossing, which is now carrying 37,390 vehicles a day – about double the defined capacity for two-lane roads of 18,000 to 20,000 vehicles a day.

Other over-capacity two-lane roads include Derrimut Road (north of Sayers Road), Point Cook Road (between Sneydes and Dunnings roads), and Heaths Road (between Greaves Street North and Shaws Road).

Daily traffic on the Princes Freeway west of Sneydes Road increased 10,000 vehicles a day to 40,000 between the 2013 and 2014 surveys.

Wyndham councillors supported taking “urgent action” to secure funding for the duplication of a swag of VicRoads arterials including Derrimut Road (between Sayers to Leakes roads), Forsyth Road (south of Old Geelong Road), Sayers Road (Palmers to Derrimut roads), Heaths Road (between Tarneit and Shaws roads) and Palmers Road (south of Princes Freeway to Dunnings Road).

According to the report, the VicRoads arterials at or over capacity in Wyndham and requiring duplication would cost about $100 million in total.

The 2014 data showed Palmers, Sayers and Leakes roads were at or over capacity while, since 2012, traffic volumes had increased by 29 per cent in Tarneit, 12 per cent in Truganina and eight per cent in Werribee and Hoppers Crossing.

As a result, the council will write to VicRoads highlighting that in the past three years it has not duplicated any roads in Wyndham identified to be at capacity.

It will request an ongoing program for duplication of the city’s arterial roads and urge that priority be given to duplicate sections of Dohertys Road (Fitzgerald Road to Grieve Parade), Leakes Road (Palmers to Fitzgerald Road) and Derrimut Road (Sayers to Leakes Roads) due to their “strategic and public safety importance”.

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