IN Laverton North, a campaign calling for upgrades to a traffic trouble spot on Dohertys Road is closing in on a decade.
Members of the Wyndham Industrial Liaison Development (WILD) committee want the road duplicated between Fitzgerald Road and Grieve Parade, and traffic lights installed at the Hume Road intersection.
WILD chairman Mick O’Donnell likened Dohertys Road, a key route through the industrial area, to a “goat track”.
He said it was only a matter of time before someone was killed.
“In the mid-1990s, the government had planned upgrades, but funding was withdrawn, and taken instead to the Western Ring Road,” he said.
“Now, with enormous growth in the area, Laverton North is really established as the major distribution centre in Australia, and one of the highest-trafficked areas of the country.
“Businesses here have many staff who fear for their lives coming and leaving work, taking risks to transition onto it.”
More than 18,000 vehicles use Dohertys Road daily, 26 per cent of which are heavy trucks, according to Wyndham Council.
Mr O’Donnell said WILD had been working with the council to mount pressure on the state government for VicRoads funding. It has even compiled a DVD highlighting the dangers on Dohertys Road and sent it to Roads Minister Terry Mulder.
The committee believes that between 400 and 500 turns are made along the road every hour during peak times.
“It’s a very visible and obvious issue,” he said.
“The real frustration is that everyone we talk to has a feeling of horror about how bad it is, so hopefully the horror converts to fixing the problem.”
