WORK is expected to start soon on installing traffic lights and widening roads at the intersection of Forest Drive and Nepean Highway, Mount Martha.
Flashing warning signs will warn motorists that they are approaching the pedestrian and traffic operated lights. Plans for the road widening, realigning Forest Drive and installing traffic lights include removing more than 100 trees to improve visibility and safety.
VicRoads says it will plant 160 native trees and 9000 shrubs and tussocks when the intersection works are finished in early 2025. Some of the trees to be removed will be mulched and used for landscaping works within the work area, while others will be retained for animal habitat around the intersection. With investigations and design works completed, VicRoads says it is now awaiting planning approval to remove vegetation and plans to hold community information sessions before starting construction.
VicRoads says about 18,000 vehicles daily travel along the highway in Mount Martha and Forest Drive is one of its “key intersections”. In the 10 years to July 2023, 10 crashes were reported at the intersection, resulting in serious injuries and one death. The intersection is at the top of a hill and has limited visibility for drivers on Forest Drive to see vehicles driving uphill towards the intersection from both sides of the highway. Drivers have difficulty finding “safe gaps” to enter into or exit from Forest Drive onto the highway.
Down the hill and north from Forest Drive traffic lights and pedestrian activated lights are also planned at the Uralla Road intersection. No timeline has been set for the change, which also includes realigning Uralla Road to form a cross-intersection with the highway and the entrance to The Briars property.
First published in the Mornington News – 23rd April 2024
