By Ruza Zivkusic
WORK on the Deer Park bypass can begin now the Federal Government has said it will put $265 million into the project.
Improvements to the arterial road network will begin next year and are expected to be finished by 2009.
The total cost of the project is $331 million, with $66 million previously allocated by the State Government.
And members of the community welcomed news of the federal funding.
But Federal Member for Gorton Brendan O’Connor believed the bypass decision was “well overdue”.
“It’s very delayed – it should have happened years ago – but we’re now happy it has happened,” Mr O’Connor said.
“We just want to make the government accountable and keep its promise.”
Mr O’Connor added that the bypass would improve the freight industry and the transport links between Melbourne, Ballarat and Adelaide.
“It’s still going to be worse before it becomes better,” he said.
“I think it’s still going to be tough for a while, but the completion will remove significant congestion along the Western Hwy and along the Kings Park Rd.”
Residents of Caroline Springs, Burnside, Kings Park and Albanvale would experience significant relief when the bypass was completed, Mr O’Connor said.
St Albans Business Group president Sebastian Agricola said the traffic situation was “horrendous”.
He said traffic had increased since the establishment of Caroline Springs.
“It has brought an explosion of population,” Mr Agricola said.
“The road infrastructure was simply not geared to cope with it, and it has caused massive delays and frustration to people where it has contributed to accidents.”
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Mr Agricola said the change would increase accessibility in the area and desire to live in the western suburbs.
“One of the things that puts people off living in the area is that they’ve got to get to work and they’re stuck at traffic morning after morning,” he said.
“It’s a fact against us so it will benefit our community in many ways and it will lift the economic development in the area.”
Mr O’Connor said he was thankful for the support of the public, who signed 4000 petitions for the bypass, which was tabled at Parliament in 2003.
“I was astonished of the very high response. I’m going to write to everyone of those petitioners thanking them for their role in this campaign,” he said.
The 9.3km standard freeway bypass will run in a new alignment from the Western Highway at Caroline Springs to the Western Ring Rd in Sunshine West.
It will bypass a 10km speedrestricted section of the Western Highway containing 20 intersections and six sets of traffic signals.
