by Violet Li
Roadworks have relentlessly pained Cranbourne throughout 2023 as the suburb underwent the second year of the Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road Upgrade.
Starting in 2022, the upgrade by Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV) aims to add extra lanes, install traffic lights to replace several roundabouts, revamp intersections, build new shared walking and cycling paths, and place safety barriers along the road at most sections between Thompsons Road and the South Gippsland Highway.
The project is said to improve safety, reduce congestion on Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road, and reduce growing traffic pressure on the South Gippsland Highway through Cranbourne Town Centre.
As Thompsons Road and Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road are two heavily trafficked main roads in the Cranbourne area, continuously planned road closures caused traffic delays on main roads and traffic build-up on residential streets.
Small trips were turned into lengthy journeys, which forced many families to move homes to avoid the traffic detours and congestion.
One local father told Star News that a 10-minute drive to Hillcrest College extended to 45 minutes on some mornings.
The distress caused this father to relocate, simply to avoid the trouble caused by the roadworks.
Local businesses also felt the brunt of the closure, with multiple businesses reporting fewer transactions and lower revenue.
Coupled with Casey Council’s major road projects, at some points, the state-led roadworks trapped residents with overlapping closures.
In August 2023, locals in Cranbourne East were denied access to both ends at Linsell Boulevard, with MRPV responsible for the closures on Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road and the Council overseeing the Clyde Road works.
The Linsell Boulevard/Clyde roadworks began in February 2022 and were set to be completed in November of the same year, yet the finishing point was prolonged to around October 2023 due to Council’s dispute over electrical poles with Melbourne Water.
Casey Council is also converting the South Gippsland Highway and Ballarto Road intersection into a roundabout to ‘accommodate for the growing population in the area’.
An approximate 100-metre section of Ballarto Road has been closed off since November 2022 and the works are expected to be completed by mid-2024.
As the two parties operated on roadworks simultaneously in the region, residents condemned the overlapping timelines.
“No one is disputing that the roadworks is needed, what is being disputed is the poor management of these timelines,” one local said.
“The area of Casey and its population cannot handle multiple projects at once.
“It’s dangerous and careless.”
Residents also questioned why the necessary roadworks failed to precede the addition of new housing estates.
As one of the fastest growing areas in Australia with projections of a 67 per cent population increase by 2041, Casey is seeing more and more estates being built, with new residents adding to the strain on our roads.
“Why don’t they prepare the roads before they allow huge estates to go in?” a local said.
“They know ahead of time if they build 200 new houses, they have to create a road.”
Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road Upgrade will continue until 2025. In February, the crew will reopen Cameron Street and close Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road at Berwick-Cranbourne Road to finish building the new intersection. Vehicles will be detoured via Thompsons Road and South Gippsland Highway. This closure will remain in place until late May.
