M1 is tops

DRIVERS in Casey are experiencing improved travel times on the Monash Freeway, says Roads and Ports Minister Tim Pallas.
Motorists in the south-eastern suburbs are benefiting from the progressive opening of the freeway as part of the $1.39 billion M1 Upgrade.
Mr Pallas was at the freeway in Dandenong North on Monday with local MPs Luke Donnellan and Judith Graley.
“The M1 Upgrade project is a vital part of the Brumby Government’s plan to build a better transport system for Victoria, so people can spend less time in traffic and more time with family,” Mr Pallas said.
Drivers living from Doveton through to Hallam and Hampton Park are also saving travel time of up to 20 minutes coming from the CityLink tunnels, with the bottlenecks at High Street and Warrigal Road now removed, says Mr Pallas.
“With the activation of the state-of-the-art freeway management system, and the completion of works on the Monash Freeway section of the project – including the additional lane in each direction – motorists in the outer suburbs are already enjoying the benefits.”
Mr Donnellan welcomed the benefits for local motorists, saying the M1 upgrade was especially improving travel for people who used the road corridor every day.
“Local drivers are beginning to experience the changes to this major arterial road and importantly, benefiting from safer, quicker and easier travel,” he said.
Ms Graley said with the traffic management system activated on the Monash Freeway last December, motorists in Narre Warren South, Hallam, Berwick and Endeavour Hills were starting to notice the differences in traffic flow.
“The sophisticated new system with 24-hour monitoring, automatic incident detection, overhead speed and lane signs on parts of the road and traffic signals at entry ramps, is delivering improvements in traffic flow,” she said.