By Eleanor Wilson, Shelby Brooks and Marcus Uhe
Extending Thompsons Road to Pakenham would be a $58 billion economic bonanza for the region, creating 140,000 jobs and significantly cutting travel time.
The figures, detailed in a newly-released report, make the case for the extension ahead of the November State Election.
Thompsons Road currently ends at a single-lane T-intersection at Smiths Lane in Clyde North, neighbouring an important jobs precinct on the border of the City of Casey and Cardinia Shire Council.
When complete, the road would connect Carrum to Pakenham.
It was also a key advocacy point for the Greater South Eastern Melbourne group, which includes Cardinia and Casey, during the Federal Election in May.
The REMPLAN report said more than 80,000 jobs would be created directly as a result of investment facilitated by the upgrade and extension of Thompsons Road.
If started in 2024, the project would deliver a $90 billion net benefit over a 30-year period, the report – which was commissioned by Cardinia Shire Council and the City of Casey – said.
In a joint statement, Cardinia Shire Council Mayor Jeff Springfield and City of Casey chair of administrators Noelene Duff said they considered the upgrade and extension of Thompsons Road as one of the region’s highest transport priorities.
“It is clear from the REMPLAN study – with the project starting in 2024 and returning $4.40 in benefit for every $1 spent – that there are compelling economic, employment and social cases for the upgrade and extension of Thompsons Road,” Cr Springfield said.
The report points out that about 110,000 residents currently leave the region for employment and many spend up to 90 minutes commuting on congested roads each day, Ms Duff said.
“The future of work is to have a shorter commute time. This is better for workers’ health, better for families, better for employers – whose workers will be less stressed – better for the environment and better for the economy,” she said.
The total cost of the upgrade and extension, excluding land acquisition costs, is estimated at $785 million.
Narre Warren South resident Tim Leed, director at Pakenham-based business Melbourne Rotomould, frequently uses Thompsons Road for both work and personal purposes.
He believes the upgraded arterial would do wonders for his business and the freight industry in which he operates.
“We currently regularly experience gridlock in Pakenham which is highly frustrating as well as costly,” Mr Leed said.
“Freight is holding us back – reliability of traffic is a large and growing problem.
“We actively prioritise recruiting workers who live locally for a number of reasons and strongly believe this would make a big difference to the existing traffic problems, but also recognise that it is not always practical, possible or desirable for people to live close to where they work.
“It will allow us to be more competitive and offer a better level of service for our customers – especially during the ongoing major driver shortage. This is critical for all businesses that require freight movement – we cannot all be online providers.”
The proposed extension would impact two seats in this year’s election, beginning in Berwick and finishing in Pakenham.
Current Gembook MP Brad Battin, who is contesting the seat of Berwick, said he and Pakenham Liberal candidate David Farrelly look forward to ensuring Casey and Cardinia get their “fair share” of funding allocations.
“The Liberal Party are committed to road and rail projects in the local area and look forward to releasing our policies and projects for our local communities as we approach the election on 26 November,” Mr Battin said.
Pakenham’s Labor candidate Emma Vulin said Labor is committed to improving roads and infrastructure across Pakenham.
“We understand the importance of Thompsons Road to the local community which is why the Labor Government duplicated it to improve safety and ease congestion,“ Ms Vulin said.
Greens candidate for Berwick Hayley Perry said she approved of the proposal, but believed it should be one of many mechanisms to improve traffic flow in the South East.
“I support the extension of Thompsons Rd to Pakenham,” Ms Perry said.
“However, these sort of projects won’t help reduce congestion, except in the short-term, without significant public transport improvements.“
Other election candidates, including Malik Zaveer (Labor for Berwick), Brett Owen (Independent for Pakenham) and Michelle Maibaum (Greens for Pakenham) were contacted for comment.
It is understood the Department of Transport has completed a business case for the project, including costings, timeframe and route, which would support project planning and enable expedited delivery.
Suggested stages of the project include Berwick-Cranbourne Road to Cardinia Road and Cardinia Creek bridge at a cost of $525 million, Cardinia Road to McGregor Road costing $200 million and McGregor Road to Kooweerup Road amounting to $60 million.
Cardinia Shire and the City of Casey form part of Greater South East Melbourne (GSEM), an advocacy body for jobs, infrastructure, investment, liveability, sustainability and wellbeing for the southeast and everyone who works and lives in the region.
