By Olivia Condous
Melton residents are “beyond frustrated” by the council’s stalling of upgrades for a “dangerous” residential road.
Troups Road South is an unsealed road located in Mount Cottrell on the border of the Melton and Wyndham municipalities.
Michelle Spiteri, a resident of Troups Road South, said there had been weekly accidents on the road due to the poor surface.
“The actual surface integrity of the road is very dangerous, dusty in the summer and potholed in the winter,” she said.
“Troups Road South, it’s a third world road.”
The road is one of multiple in a network that is in urgent need of upgrades, as development in the area means many trucks use the poorly constructed roads.
Residents have been lobbying to have the road sealed for years and Melton council committed to beginning construction on the $5.8 million project at the beginning of this year, even preparing the construction site, but has now stalled the project by months.
“It was about to start, we were so excited, we were over the moon and then it was pulled,” Ms Spiteri said.
“They took the toilet block away, the surveillance cameras went… and it was like literally, my stomach had been pulled out with it.”
The City of Melton website for the road upgrade states that due to “circumstances out of our control”, additional design works were required prior to construction starting.
“From having a filled road completed by the end of this year, we’re now looking at the intersections just starting, which means that we potentially could have another year or more of this road,” Ms Spiteri said.
City of Melton engineering service acting manager Kerry Walton said construction was now due to begin in late 2022.
“Council is upgrading Troups Road South to improve safety and cater for increased traffic.
“Until construction commences, council is grading the road every four weeks and inspecting it weekly to ensure we stay on top of any extra grading work that may need to be done.”
