26 August 2018 for the first time in almost 60 years. In November 2021 Major Roads Projects Victoria appointed a construction partner for The Bridge Inn Road Upgrade between Plenty and Yan Yean roads. It will add extra lanes in each direction, install traffic lights, build a bridge over the Plenty River and upgrade the existing bridge, install safety barriers, upgrade intersections and build a new shaed walking and cycling path. The road will be complete by 2025. In May 2022 Major Road Projects Victoria announced that they were planning to relocate the historic Wollert Methodist Church to Carome Homestead as part of the Epping Road Upgrade project. Education Mernda is located 15 minutes' drive to RMIT University Bundoora Campus & approximately 30 minutes to La Trobe University. Mernda has two primary schools; Mernda Primary School and St Joseph's Catholic Primary School. The two higher secondary colleges Gilson College, Mernda campus and Ivanhoe Grammar School plenty campus co-educational from Prep to Year 12 are located in Bridge Inn Road in Doreen. Plenty Valley Christian College is also a Prep to year 12 co-educational private school located 5 minutes drive from Mernda. In December 2015 construction of two new government schools began. Mernda Central P-12 College located on Breadalbane Avenue and Mernda Park Primary School located on Riverdale Boulevard started to open in January 2017. Sports The Mernda Football Club, also known as the Demons, has played for more than a century in either the Whittlesea District Football League, the Diamond Valley Football League or the Northern Football League, and won 18 premierships. The Mernda Cricket Club has regularly won Championships in both the JIKA Cricket Association and the Diamond Valley Cricket Association. Mernda won its first Barclay Shield in season 2008–09, two years after being promoted to A-Grade. Mernda also enjoyed success in the lower grades of the DVCA during that season, winning the E Grade premiership. Mernda Dragons play rugby league in NRL Victoria. Mernda Junior Netball Club plays Netball in the local community, currently with 8 teams of local girls and boys. In 2020, their under 11's Blaze won the division 2 premiership and under 13's Fury won the division 1 premiership. Population In the 2011 Census, there were 6,508 people in Mernda (State Suburbs) of these, 49.3% were male and 50.7% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.9% of the population. The median