Wednesday, 2 April 2025

Leakes Road–Western Freeway, Rockbank

David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan) (18:31): (1568) 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.