Mr J. BULL (Sunbury) — Job done. Thanks to the Andrews Labor government I am proud to say one of Hume’s busiest intersections is now a whole lot safer. Thanks to just over $3 million as part of the Safe System Road Infrastructure Program, the Mickleham Road–Melrose Drive intersection has been fixed, creating jobs and making our community safer. The intersection has a significant crash history, particularly involving drivers failing either to recognise the intersection or to give way to other drivers.

As part of this project, traffic lights have been installed to control vehicles entering the intersection, with an additional traffic lane added to the north of Melrose Drive to ease congestion. Upgraded lighting, signage and line markings will improve conditions for all road users and further reduce the risk of crashes at this intersection. There will also be improved safety for cyclists using this intersection quite regularly.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the community for their great advocacy and their patience during the completion of this important project. A number of residents have written and phoned my office since we came into office expressing their concerns in relation to having this intersection fixed. I want to also take the opportunity to thank the hardworking men and women who made this project possible, of course the team at VicRoads and the construction team who worked through the winter months and got it done. I also want to acknowledge Jarrod Bell from my office, who worked closely with a local resident to ensure that a wheelchair ramp was installed on the footpath just near the project. Too often it is easy to forget the small things that matter so much to our local communities, but, importantly, this ramp was installed to the great delight of this local resident.