Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am proud to be standing here today to announce that, finally, after a six-month, strong, local La Trobe campaign to upgrade the Monash Freeway, including an electorate-wide survey, over the weekend the state Labor government announced a $400-million Monash upgrade. This is a huge win for local residents and a big step in the right direction. I sincerely thank the state government for finally getting on board. The announcement looks to ease the congestion of the Monash carpark by widening the lanes to five each way between EastLink and the South Gippsland Highway and three lanes each way further south-east to Clyde Road. But this only makes up for what should have been built by a previous state Labor government. We now urgently need four lanes each way on the Clyde Road end of the project, and the state Labor government needs to address the long-term growth for the area. Also, part of the upgrade must include on/off ramps at the diamond interchange in Beaconsfield and the extension of O'Shea's Road. This would remove the need for Beaconsfield residents to travel along the very busy Clyde Road to enter and exit the Monash. Finally, we have not given up on the East West Link. We need a new state government in Victoria.