KNOX City Council is to ask VicRoads to stop work on a four-metre high roadway being built within 10 metres of back yard fences.
The move comes after a councillor lashed out at VicRoads claiming it had not consulted residents about works underway on Napolean Road at the border of Lysterfield and Rowville.
The extreme elevation of the road was designed to increase visibility for motorists approaching the dangerous intersection of Napoleon and Kelletts Roads.
VicRoads has admitted that information brochures sent to the residents did not specify the height of the roadway.
An enraged contingent of residents expressed their dismay with the ongoing works at last Tuesday’s council meeting, lamenting the loss of privacy, safety and aesthetic appeal.
Dinsdale Ward councillor Adam Gill said that the failed consultation process was indicative of VicRoads’ “rotten to the core culture”.
“It is a culture of arrogance and ineptitude,” Cr Gill said, before calling for the organisation to be scrapped by the State Government.
After the meeting, Knox mayor Jim Penna was keen to distance himself from Cr Gill’s tirade, saying “that is the opinion of one councillor”.
At the request of his fellow councillors, Cr Penna will now contact VicRoads CEO Garry Liddle and Roads Minister Tim Pallas to ask that the works cease pending further consultation and review.

– Paul Pickering