By Charlene Macaulay
A Wyndham councillor has taken the government and contractors Netflow to task for a lack of maintenance along Duncans Road while its interchange is being upgraded.
Wyndham councillor Mia Shaw said it was “unacceptable” that Netflow, which has a $600 million contract for road maintenance throughout the west over the next 20 years as part of the Western Roads Package, had not scheduled any significant maintenance for Duncans Road until early 2019.
Cr Shaw said she was concerned by the state of the road shoulders and disappointed a traffic light intersection at Edwards Road had not been included as part of the interchange upgrade, with locals struggling to drive in and out of Edwards Road due to increasing traffic.
“This road carries about 11,000 vehicles a day and is becoming, in my opinion, a safety issue,” she said.
“It’s time they were sealed and I would urge the government to commit funding to this as a matter of urgency.”
Meanwhile, Werribee resident Rob Clancy said turning right onto Duncans from Loyola and Yalonga roads was becoming similarly difficult for residents.
In September, Werribee South’s Daphne Karantzouli said it beggared belief the government had funded revamping the Duncans Road interchange without also funding duplication and repairs for the rest of the arterial.
Major Road Projects Authority acting project director Grant Deeble said the maintenance program for Duncans Road included drainage improvements and rehabilitation work, which is scheduled to begin in February next year.
The authority did not specify why works had not been scheduled sooner.