Forest Drive and Uralla Road – Why Are We Still Waiting?

I have frequently raised concerns about the condition of Nepean Highway between Balcombe Creek and Forest Drive in Mount Martha.

The volume of traffic using that stretch of the road increased enormously when Peninsula Link opened. During the term of the former coalition government, at my urging, the speed limit south of Balcombe Grammar was reduced.

The then Minister for Roads initiated preliminary consideration of potential solutions.

At the first sitting of the last Parliament, I raised the issue again and urged the new government to keep up the momentum.

Unfortunately that did not happen. Some diversionary tactics, like the Mount Martha access study, were undertaken but nothing of substance.

In 2018 the commonwealth, persuaded by the member for Flinders, Greg Hunt, committed $10 million to fix problems at both Uralla Road and Forest Drive. Now, in May 2020, despite having that $10 million worth of funding, still nothing has been done and those dangerous intersections remain.

So the question is simple: when will the government finally act to fix these dangerous intersections?