Foote Street closure, delays continue

by SUSAN FOREMAN
4th July 2022

FITZSIMONS LANE’S  fourth intersection is set to be upgraded at Williamsons Road-Foote Street this month, as the Major Roads project
heats up to complete three months’ work in six weeks this winter.
Major works ramped up to commence with the school holidays and will continue until Sunday, August 7, with the intersection at Foote Street and Williamsons Road in Templestowe to be upgraded with additional approach lanes and extended turn lanes.
These works will be carried out between 6am and 10pm, seven days a week.
Member for East Metropolitan Region Sonja Terpstra said: “Over these winter months, we’ll get on with upgrading the Williamsons Road-Foote Street intersection — improving traffic flow and making it quicker and safer to get around Templestowe.
“As these works ramp up, we encourage the community to continue to support our local traders as we complete this important infrastructure
upgrade.”
These improvements will help reduce congestion on Williamsons Road and Foote Street.
Pavement markings, signage, drainage, and street lighting will also be upgraded to cater for the improved intersection.
To add the approach lanes and extend the turn lanes, crews will renew drainage systems, carry out earthworks, laying new asphalt, and
install new traffic signals.
Drivers travelling east to west can expect road closures and detours in the area as the work is carried out.
There’ll be delays expected of up to 20 minutes.
Williamsons Road will remain open for those travelling towards Doncaster
or Eltham.
Finishing works around the intersection will continue until later in the year to complete asphalting, line-marking, signage installation and
final utility works.
Traffic management will be in place to keep workers and road users safe.
Williamsons Road is an extension of Fitzsimons Lane, connecting Eltham and Templestowe to neighbouring eastern and northern suburbs and the Eastern Freeway, carrying more than 60,000 vehicles daily.

Replanting plans

Students with a passion for sustainability have been given a masterclass in local flora from the Edendale Community Environment
Farm staff and the Fitzsimons Lane Upgrade team.
Eltham MP Vicki Ward, Nillumbik Shire Council Mayor Frances Eyre and Nillumbik Shire Councillor Natalie Duffy joined environment captains from Eltham High School at the local farm in May to learn more about how the project is enriching habitats and supporting the area’s rich biodiversity.
Vicki Ward said the project had reached an exciting point, with major works kicking off as well as hundreds of trees and thousands of shrubs set to be planted along the Fitzsimons Lane Upgrade as part of the project design.
“We are planting hundreds of native trees and grasses as well as more than 5,000 shrubs,” Ms Ward said.
Last year, the project partnered with the Rotary Club of Eltham, which saw 14 local schools and community groups sow some 6,750 locally grown and indigenous seedlings at home and in the community, including Diamond Creek Trail at Wattle Glen.