Wyndham businesses have renewed calls to fix Dohertys Road to improve safety and attract new business to the area.
The road, which cuts through industrial estates across Laverton North, Truganina and Tarneit, is one of the major east-west routes for the ever-growing area.
But Garry Cahoon, of the Wyndham Industrial Liaison Development Committee, said Dohertys Road still resembled a farm road.
In particular, he is concerned by the intersections of Dohertys and Hume roads and Dohertys Road and Cherry Lane.
“There have been fatalities and it’s not very safe,” he said.
“The top priority on a daily basis is safety at work, and getting to and from work around Hume and Dohertys is not safe.
“The only thing that’s happened of late is that there are fewer serious incidents because the speed limit has been lowered to 60km/h, but it’s still a nightmare.
“The intersections are not made for the traffic coming through. There are B-doubles coming through and there just isn’t the room to turn. It’s still a farm road … it looks tacky and rugged.”
Mr Cahoon, who has spent years campaigning on the issue, wants to see both the Hume Road and Cherry Lane intersections upgraded and duplicated and Dohertys Road widened.
Wyndham councillor Intaj Khan said it was important to duplicate and resurface Dohertys Road in order to attract new business to the area.
Most recently, Woolworths announced it would open a meat processing plant on Dohertys Road in August, but Cr Khan believes the arterial road could be costing the area even more jobs by not being up to scratch for big businesses.
He called on the state government to fund the project in its next budget.
“Dohertys Road is such a great location for many businesses but the condition of the road is not good,” he said.
“I will be tabling petitions and putting in notices of motion for the immediate repair of Dohertys Road.”
Tarneit MP Telmo Languiller did not respond to Star Weekly’s request for comment.
