Residents are fearful that traffic and pollution on Millers Road in Brooklyn will only worsen once the West Gate Tunnel opens later this year.
Altona North resident Alexandra Damasoliotis who lives near Millers Road said traffic is already an issue in the area.
“It’s diabolical trying to get out of there…It’s dodging those trucks and they’re coming full pelt down the road. Speed limits aren’t monitored and it’s only just going to get worse with the tunnel opening up this year,” Ms Damasoliotis said.
“I’m just surprised that Millers Road in Brooklyn hasn’t been made a truck-free zone.”
She said trucks also impact air quality by creating strong odours and surfacing dust that often settles on her car, trees and on the blinds inside her house.
“I live three streets away so the amount of dust that filters over my house on a daily basis is horrible. It comes through my windows,” Ms Damasoliotis said.
“I’ve been lobbying for years to try and have some changes made but it’s fallen on deaf ears I’m afraid.”
The state government said front-facing properties along Millers Road were eligible to receive noise attenuation, including double glazing, upgraded window frames, and new doors, which it said would make homes quieter and more comfortable as part of the West Gate Tunnel project.
However, Ms Damasoliotis said she is not eligible for noise attenuation as her house is not on Millers Road itself.
As reported by Star Weekly in 2021, Hobsons Bay council estimated up to 11,800 trucks could be diverted onto Millers Road north of the West Gate Freeway per day once the West Gate Tunnel opens.
The same 2020 council report stated east-west truck bans along Francis Street and Somerville Road will contribute to this number.
Ms Damasoliotis said truck drivers will also divert to Millers Road to avoid additional costs from the tolled West Gate Tunnel.
“They’re not going to want to pay those fees,” she said.
Ms Damasoliotis, who is also a mother, would like to see a truck curfew introduced on Millers Road during school pick-up and drop-off hours.
Star Weekly contacted the state government which said Minister for Roads and Road Safety Melissa Horne is seeking advice and modelling from her department on how curfews on Millers Road could work and be enforced.
The Department of Transport and Planning also said it will be monitoring and reviewing traffic levels on Millers Road before and after the tunnel opens in late 2025 to manage changes on surrounding roads.
“The West Gate Tunnel Project will transform the way people move across the west, while delivering a vital alternative to the West Gate Bridge,” a state government spokesman said.
“We are making investments to improve our freight network, including rezoning land in Brooklyn and Tottenham to move container parks to better-connected industrial land, leasing the Old Melbourne Market site on Footscray Road for container storage and truck marshalling, and with the Commonwealth, we’ve invested in the Port Rail Shuttle network to shift more freight by rail.”
