Residents on Mt Morton Road in Belgrave Heights will have a safer road surface and improved drainage, with one of the final Roads for the Community Initiative Projects beginning soon.
On Tuesday, 13 February, Councillors accepted a tender from Etheredge Mintern Pty Ltd for Stage 2 of road construction works on Mt Morton Road.
The road project will be funded with money from the Federal Government as part of the Roads for the Community Initiative – which was a $150 million, 10-year plan to seal roads across the region – alongside subsidised landowner contributions.
In 2022, the Federal Government reduced their funding of the project to $47.7m, meaning a majority of road construction projects had to be abandoned.
Lyster Ward Councillor, Johanna Skelton, said the Mt Morton road construction was a bittersweet project.
“I’m so pleased that we will have residents in Belgrave Heights achieve the road surface that a majority want. There will be less dust, an easier driving surface, improved drainage and they will no longer need to navigate the constant cycle of grading and maintenance that we experience on unsealed roads,” Cr Skelton said.
“This has been a project that locals have wanted for many years, and it’s a privilege to have been in the Council Chamber making the decision to award the tender for construction.
“However, it is bittersweet because we know countless other people in the Dandenongs are unable to get their roads sealed with this contribution amount, because of the significant reduction in funding from the Federal Government last year.
“This funding was a game changer because local governments simply do not have the millions of dollars it costs to seal unsealed roads at scale. The funding we originally had been promised by Labor and Liberal candidates in 2016 would have allowed us to complete 70 years’ worth of road projects in less than 10.
“But unfortunately we’ve had no indication from the Federal Government that the funding cut will be reversed.
“We’ll continue to advocate for our communities on this issue, and in the meantime work through the final projects on our priority list for Roads for the Community.”
Road works are expected to commence in April, with practical completion by the end of 2024, dependent on weather.
