Bulla bypass plea as 24,000 vehicles use Sunbury-Bulla Rd each day

THERE are renewed calls for governments to get Bulla bypass built as more than 24,300 motorists travel through the town each day.

HUME Council has renewed calls for the Federal and State governments to speed up construction of the Bulla bypass as more than 24,300 motorists travel through Bulla each day.

The latest figures from Hume Council’s self-commissioned traffic survey near Loemans Rd showed an additional 2693 vehicles travelled daily on the Sunbury-Bulla Rd, a 12.4 per cent increase in 12 months.

Hume Mayor Helen Patsikatheodorou said the choked, undivided carriageway was already at breaking point.

“It’s getting worse, with a whopping 24,395 bikes, cars and trucks every day on the single lanes of Sunbury-Bulla Road,” she said. “These vehicles must negotiate the narrow bridge which traverses across Deep Creek, and it can be a very dangerous commute for our families.”

Cr Patsikatheodorou said there was expected to be ­another 14,000 homes east of Sunbury in the coming years and thousands along Lancefield Rd and Sunbury Rd, making the need for extra lanes and the long-mooted Bulla bypass even more necessary.

“Hume has consistently called for both sides of politics to commit to the Bulla bypass, to take traffic away from a township which chokes in the morning and afternoon,” she said.

RACV roads and traffic manager Dave Jones said it supported investment in road and public transport issues in Melbourne’s growth areas.

“In 2012, RACV identified a long list of such projects within Hume City Council, including duplicating the Sunbury-Bulla Rd,” he said.

“This would involve a new alignment to bypass Bulla.”

VicRoads director of traffic and planning Metro North West, David Teague, acknowledged increasing traffic on Sunbury Rd. “We continue to work with Hume City Council to explore ­options to improve its ­safety,” he said.

“We have identified a number of potential road safety measures for Sunbury Rd including road widening, additional safety barriers, relocating existing street lighting at Oaklands Rd and improving access for emergency services to Melbourne Airport.

“We also reduced the speed limit on Sunbury Rd, between Tullamarine Freeway and Wildwood Rd in Bulla ... in response to its poor crash history.”

Mr Teague said the Melbourne Airport Link and Bulla bypass was considered a long-term project.