Cardinia Shire Council has commenced works to upgrade the O’Neil Road/Princes Highway intersection in Beaconsfield.
The O’Neil Road intersection will be upgraded to be a fully signalised ‘t-intersection’ featuring dual right-turn lanes, bus lanes on Princes Highway, and dedicated cyclist signalisation. There will also be improvements to drainage, connected shared paths from Devon Court to Princes Highway and the construction of a roundabout at Pink Hill Boulevard.
The O’Neil Road intersection is the first works of a broader program funded by Cardinia Shire Council Better Local Roads – Princes Highway Intersections ($18.3M) and the Australian Government’s Urban Congestion Fund ($17.8M) to upgrade a number of priority intersections along the Princes Highway in Cardinia Shire over the next three years.
Extensive traffic modelling undertaken by the shire identified several intersections along Princes Highway needing upgrading to cater for increasing traffic volumes.
Federal Member for Latrobe, Jason Wood, said the Princes Highway Intersections project through Beaconsfield, Pakenham and Officer will improve road safety and transform local roads to cope with future growth and to improve travel for generations to come.
Federal Member for Latrobe, Jason Wood said, “I am very proud to secure federal funding to upgrade eight intersections along the Princes Highway between Pakenham and Beaconsfield. This includes O’Neil Road, where La Trobe residents contacted me seeking my support to fix these exceptionally dangerous intersections in order to minimise the risk of fatal or serious injury for all road users”.
“The Princes Highway Intersections project through Beaconsfield, Pakenham and Officer will improve road safety and transform local roads to cope with future growth and to improve travel for generations to come”, Mr Wood said.
“The Princes Highway between Pakenham and Beaconsfield is a highly congested corridor serving a high population growth area. As a result, there remains exceptional road congestion and safety issues. These intersection upgrades are expected to reduce congestion and improve travel time reliability along this corridor. They will also improve network connectivity, access and safety for all road users” Mr Wood said.
Peter Benazic, Cardinia Shire’s General Manager – Infrastructure and Environment, said: “We’re pleased to be funding the Princes Highway Intersections program with $18.3M and kicking off works at O’Neil Road to bring a better travel experience and improved safety along this section of the Princes Highway. Planning is also well underway for the delivery of the broader program that will see much-needed improvements delivered for road users right along the busy stretch of highway from Pakenham to Beaconsfield.”
Other intersections being investigated through the $36M Princes Highway Intersections program include:
- Glismann Road/Beaconsfield Avenue, Beaconsfield
- Brunt Road/Whiteside Rd, Beaconsfield
- Bayview Road, Officer
- Tivendale Road/Station Street, Officer
- McMullen Road, Officer
- Arena Parade, Officer
- Thewlis Road, Pakenham
O’Neil Road intersection works are expected to be completed by May 2021.
