Frustrated homeowners in Melbourne’s west threaten legal action over truck vibrations damaging houses

FAMILIES fed up with their homes cracking under the strain of truck vibrations are threatening legal action against Maribyrnong Council to fix the problem.

FAMILIES fed up with their homes cracking under the strain of truck vibrations are threatening legal action against Maribyrnong Council to fix the problem.

Yarraville’s Christopher Apostolou, who lives on Williamstown Rd, claims his plasterwork has cracked due to trucks rumbling over poorly surfaced roads.

Mr Apostolou said he would be making a claim requesting the council assess the damage caused by the vibrations. But he said he wouldtake legal action if the councilrefused to repair it.

“My plasterwork is damaged and it’s getting to the point where the council has to be responsible,” he said.

“The vibrations literally shake the whole house.”

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Maribyrnong Truck Action Group has advocated for main roads such as Williamstown Rd and Somerville Rd to be properly resurfaced, rather than “patched up” with asphalt.

Mr Apostolou said if he rallied enough residents together, who had experienced similar issues, he would lodge a class action.

Former Kingsville resident Kate Wylie, who left her Somerville Rd home due to the surging number of trucks, said her house walls were filled with cracks.

“It progressively got worse, there were cracks all above our fireplace,” she said.

Maribyrnong Council’s corporate services director Celia Haddock said any claim for compensation would need to be directed to the authority responsible.

“For example in respect to Williamstown Rd, VicRoads would be the authority responsible as well as for part of Somerville Rd, while a separate section of Somerville Rd is managed by council,” she said.

Metro north west operations director Fatima Mohamed said VicRoads staff had inspected Williamstown and Geelong roads this week and found none of the recent resurfacing works on the roads to be defective and both roads were in a safe condition

Meanwhile, the State Government has unveiled a Corridor Study Group to tackle the torrent of trucks expected to stampede through the inner-west when the Westgate Tunnel Project is complete in 2022.

Truck traffic on Williamstown Rd is predicted to double to 5000 trucks a day by 2030, with an additional 4000 trucks set for Millers Rd following the tunnel’s completion.

The group, led by members of VicRoads, Transport for Victoria, Western Distributor Authority, EPA and four councils, is set to investigate truck use on Williamstown Rd, including safety along the corridor of Millers Rd.

“As major road projects are rolled out across our west, traffic movement is going to change in this area and it’s crucial that we balance the needs of our local communities with the movement of freight,” Roads MinisterLuke Donnellan said.

Truck bans will also be reviewed as part of the study group, which will start mid-year.

@chanelzagon