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2nd of April 2025, 6:31pm
Parliament of Victoria | Legislative Council

David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan):

My adjournment is addressed to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety. Leakes Road services the rapidly growing Rockbank area in my electorate. There are already some 14,500 vehicles travelling along Leakes Road every day, with traffic modelling commissioned by Melton council indicating that this will increase to over 22,700 vehicles by 2031.

Most of these vehicles are fighting their way onto the Western Freeway. The intersection of Leakes Road and the Western Freeway is a particularly hazardous one. With no signalling on the on-ramp, cars are forced to queue up on this busy arterial road and simply wait for a gap in the traffic. It is little wonder that there have been 29 crashes along Leakes Road between the Western Freeway interchange and Westcott Parade in the last few years.

This is the only section of Leakes Road that comes under state responsibility. All the other sections are managed by Melton council. Melton council asked the government to install traffic lights, but the Minister for Roads and Road Safety ruled it out, citing technical issues:

Temporary traffic lights cannot be connected to the traffic light control system that allows for remote adjustments. This could lead to driver frustration, poor compliance, and safety issues …

Presumably these would be beyond the hair-raising lunge drivers must take to merge onto the Western Freeway.

Melton council are considering building a roundabout next to Rockbank station at Westcott Parade so that people exiting the freeway can turn right at Leakes Road, do a U-turn at Westcott Parade and continue north. It is not the best model, and it is still two years away. However, the federal government announcement of a $1 billion package to upgrade the Western Freeway could provide a solution.

We know the funds will go towards improving safety and increasing capacity by adding extra lanes and upgrades to key interchanges. The council has written to the minister seeking information on the scope of this investment, on its delivery and on the installation of traffic lights.

So the action I seek is for the minister to liaise with the federal government to prioritise the installation of traffic lights at the Leakes Road interchange, either as a permanent fixture or a temporary trial, to address the safety concerns at this dangerous interchange.

Written Answer
Received: 12 May 2025
Hon. Melissa Horne MP
(Minister for Ports and Freight, Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Minister for Health Infrastructure)

I thank the Member for Western Metropolitan Region for his question.

I appreciate there is significant growth occurring in Melbourne’s west, which is placing increasing pressure on the transport network.

Government agencies, including the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) and Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV), continue to work together to determine the infrastructure requirements needed to cater for this growth, both in the immediate and long term.

MRPV is planning for an upgrade of the Western Freeway between Melton and Caroline Springs to improve safety, freeway access, and road capacity to help accommodate growing demand.

Options that have been explored include adding road lanes, new interchanges and overpasses, and upgrading existing interchanges (including at Leakes Road). A business case was completed in December 2024, which provided a high-level assessment of the upgrade, recommended a long-term approach for upgrading the freeway, and outlined how the upgrade could be delivered in stages.

The Australian Government has recently committed $1 billion to the freeway upgrade, with upgrades to be identified and prioritised between the Federal and Victorian governments. 

With regards to implementing a temporary solution at the Leakes Road and Western Freeway interchange, DTP has advised that temporary traffic lights cannot be connected to the traffic control system that allows for remote adjustments to signal timings and help manage changed traffic conditions, delays and demands. This could lead to poor compliance, safety issues, and the potential for issues to extend to the surrounding network, in this case the main carriageway of the Western Freeway.

DTP will continue to engage with Melton City Council regarding potential temporary safety solutions at the Leakes Road and Western Freeway interchange.

In addition, the Victorian Government is also removing level crossings at Coburns Road, Exford Road, Ferris Road and Hopkins Road along the Melton rail line, improving safety and reducing delays for all road users.


[ENDS]

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