Dandenong MP John Pandazopoulos, Transport Minister Peter Batchelor and Mulgrave MP Daniel Andrews stand on the EastLink tollway. The land behind them is where the $6.5 million connection between Heatherton Road and Princes Highway will be built.By Shaun Inguanzo
A MULTI-MILLION-dollar link between Heatherton Road and the Princes Highway will save Noble Park streets from a 15,000-cars-a-day onslaught when the EastLink tollway opens.
The City of Greater Dandenong and Noble Park residents have been fighting for the link since 1998 when the State Government announced the current intersection would be abolished, and Heatherton Road would be elevated above the EastLink Tollway and disconnected from the Princes Highway.
But last Monday in a pre-election sweetener, Transport Minister Peter Batchelor and Mulgrave MP Daniel Andrews announced a $6.5 million connection between the two arterials.
The design is a short crossover between the arterials with four lanes – two heading in each direction.
It took Southern and Eastern Integrated Transport Authority (SEITA) engineers four months to plan, and will require the State Government to acquire three industrial sites near the intersection.
The connection lies on the eastern side of Heatherton Road’s position to EastLink, and is expected to allow the 15,000 cars that rely on the link to continue their routine path.
Mr Batchelor told Star he was ‘unsure’ why the link was not included in the Environmental Effects Statement in 1998.
But he praised the work of local residents, the council and Mr Andrews, who he said had lobbied hard to prove the connection was needed.
“During community consultations it was the main issue raised,” he said.
Consultation meetings in May 2004 and March 2005 attracted combined crowds of more than 700 people – most worried about losing the link.
SEITA CEO Ken Mathers agreed that ‘trying to fit all the works in was complicated’ for engineers.
Mr Batchelor said the acquisitions would provide the necessary space but would be the lengthiest part of the new project’s time frame.
He said the connection would open in November 2008, more than one year after the Heatherton Road fly-over is opened.
Mr Andrews said that recently commenced upgrades to Noble Park’s busiest intersections would carry the traffic burden until the link was completed.
“The local community is the big winner from today’s announcement as the new link will eliminate the need for drivers to rat run through the neighbourhood streets,” he said.
City of Greater Dandenong engineering services director Tim Tamlin was delighted with the news.
“We had always wanted Heatherton Road to link into the Princes Highway and EastLink. But due to the enormity of the design task it never came off and we were told it wasn’t going to happen,” he said.
Mr Tamlin said council would work with the business owners facing acquisition to help them relocate within Greater Dandenong.
