Unveiling a plan for Gallagher's Crossing

by Aidan Knight

Removal of the level crossing, known as Gallagher's crossing, in Warragul will be a priority of a Coalition state government.

Shadow minister for public transport Matthew Guy met Member for Narracan Wayne Farnham in Warragul last week to announce a Coalition state government would prioritise planning for the removal of the level crossing in the first term of office.

Speaking on site, Mr Guy said design work would begin as soon as an engineer's assessment of the best alternative was completed, not committing to which option was more likely between an underpass or an overpass.
"The first point, of course, is to get to first base, and that's to know what we're dealing with, and that's we're going to start," Mr Guy said.
Mr Guy said the design would be undertaken by the Department of Transport, and a construction budget bid would follow once the project's scope was determined.
Mr Farnham outlined first-hand accounts of struggling to get his daughter to school on time in years past, with the significant congestion along Burke St impacting students travelling to Warragul Regional College, Marist Sion, and St Joseph's.
He said the crossing caused significant delays and removing it would support Warragul's growth, something that "anyone that lives in Warragul knows."
He said the assessment should consider the wider traffic precinct, not just the crossing, including traffic movements on King and Colman Streets, as well as the Burke and Howitt Streets intersection.
Mr Farnham said minor accidents had occurred in the area, as well as traffic queues stretching much of the length of Burke St.
"We don't know what would be easier," Mr Guy said, "road under, rail under, a shandy - what that might look like."
Mr Guy also addressed concerns about the current V/Line timetable, something that had been an issue tradespeople commuting to Melbourne since the timetable reshuffle in February.
While Mr Farnham opted to point out that timetabling was a V/Line responsibility, not state government, Mr Guy held a stronger opinion on the matter.
"I'm not going to advocate for them to do it", he said, "I'm going to tell them to do it."
The shadow minister was 41 minutes late to the press conference, because he opted to travel on V/Line.
"Public transport is a service, not a convenience for (transport) planners - it's convivence for commuters. "If the service should be earlier, it should be earlier, it's not difficult to re-timetable it, and I'll make sure
they do it."