Residents risk illegal shortcuts amid road closure
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He acknowledged the behavior was risky but said people felt helpless. Detour adds significant travel time In an outer west suburb that already has notorious access problems.
“This is just people going about their daily lives,” he said. “They’re just trying to get to the train station. They’re trying to get into Cobblebank.”
“When you’re trying to get your kids to school during rush hour, you’re talking about a 45 to 55 minute drive. So why wouldn’t they take the 5 to 10 minute paddock beat route and get to where they need to be?”
Pearse stands on a makeshift road that residents have started using since developers closed normal roads along Alfred Road.Credit: Paul Jeffers
The suburb of green areas has always had an inadequate road network. The lack of a motorway interchange to Thornhill Park forces residents to head west to Melton and then head east into the city, making an elaborate U-turn at Ferris Road. Although the Melton line passes through the suburbs, there is no public transportation.
Upgrades to the Western Highway between Melton and Caroline Springs are in the planning stages, but it has not yet been confirmed whether the upgrade will include a roundabout to Thornhill Park.
The Allan government has not committed to funding the project despite receiving $1.1 billion from the federal government in March. Prime Minister Jacinta Allan told summit attendees last week that the design because the improvement of the highway was still not completed.
Pearse has been lobbying Melton City Council to bring forward the construction of Shogaki Drive, which would provide a second east-west arterial route into Melton. The municipality purchased the land for the planned road earlier this year. It is planned to be built in 2028.
Melton councilors will debate a motion put forward by Phillip Zada calling on the council to provide funding for the construction of Shogaki Drive when they meet on Monday.
“The long-term closure of Alfred Road has forced residents to seek alternative and often unsafe means to enter or exit their properties,” Zada’s motion states. “The accelerated delivery of Shogaki Drive will deliver much-needed connectivity to alleviate these pressures and strengthen network resilience.”
The four-month closure of Alfred Road cut off Thornhill Park residents’ direct access to the Melton line.Credit: Jason South
Pearse himself did not resort to illegal means and said he was afraid someone might get into trouble.
“You take it into your own hands and you don’t know what’s in those pastures. You don’t know if there are any potholes, potholes or rocks. I understand that, but things can go wrong.”
Alfred Road runs east-west between Thornhill Park and Melton and is the only direct route to Cobblebank railway station, the nearest station to Thornhill Park on the Melton line.
In August, the mostly rural standard road was closed for remediation works until December, giving the community only 12 days’ notice.
Developers of the Balmoral housing estate in Strathtulloh are upgrading it to urban standard during the four-month closure, after which the empty pastures will be subdivided into another housing estate.
A Melton council spokesman said the improvement to Alfred Road was required by a planning permission requirement and safe crossings had been introduced via the Western Motorway or Exford Road.
“Crossing private land to avoid a detour is illegal, can cause damage to private property and in the event of injury motorists are not covered by the TAC,” the spokesman said.
“The council has expressed concerns about the developer implementing the traffic management plan and continues to monitor traffic conditions on the road network.”
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