Summerhill Road Reconstruction Underway
Published on 24 June 2024
Council has begun works on the reconstruction of Summerhill Road in Footscray to address ongoing deterioration of the road surface.
The reconstruction and resurfacing is part of Council’s commitment to upgrading the five key distributor roads which carry high volumes of traffic, including significant numbers of heavy vehicles, into and through the municipality.
Upgrades of Somerville Road in Kingsville, Mitchell St in Maidstone and Rosamond Road in the suburb of Maribyrnong have already been completed addressing deterioration that has occurred over time due to increasing wet weather and heavy traffic use.
Works along Summerhill Road will see the road pavement replaced between Ballarat Road and Eden Street with new kerb and channel to improve drainage and manage issues with some driveways along the street. An additional pedestrian crossing will also be constructed in response to community requests.
The kerb and channel works, currently underway, will take around three weeks to complete, weather dependent, prior to road resurfacing, and will be largely undertaken at night to reduce the impact on traffic and the surrounding road network, with some day works between 10:00am and 2:00pm.
Because these works involve the use of heavy machinery, there will be some noise and dust, which the contractor will do their best to minimise. This includes scheduling the most disruptive works between 8:00pm and 11:00pm.
The road will also need to be closed at times to facilitate works and ensure the safety of work crews and road users. Detours will be signposted and residents will be supported to continue to access their properties. Residents will be advised of any impacts on parking within the work zone in advance.
Asphalting works will follow and are expected to be completed before the end of the year.
The reconstruction and resurfacing will support delivery of the Distributor Roads Project delivering multi-million dollar upgrades to the key arterials across Maribyrnong to support improvements to the road network in line with requests from our community highlighted in the Annual Community Survey.
Further works along Summerhill Road, from Essex to Eden Street, involving reconstruction of the road are anticipated in the first half of next year, with re-sheeting from Barkly Street to Essex Street to follow after that.
“By re-sheeting and resurfacing Summerhill Road, we can improve and restore the condition of the road pavement extending the life expectancy of this high traffic area for up to twenty years," Maribyrnong City Mayor, Cr Cuc Lam said.
“While the scale of works will mean some disruption for residents and travellers, once completed, the need for ongoing repairs will be reduced and the experience of road users significantly improved, which is what our community has been asking of us.”
While acknowledging bike lanes are not included in the like-for-like reconstruction, Mayor Lam also reinforced Council “remains committed to engaging with our community on delivery of a north-south cycling corridor that will support the needs of residents and road users.”