Riordan queries who will fix barriers
THE CONDITION of controversial wire rope barriers between Geelong and Colac has been raised in State Parliament as debate rages over who will foot the bill to repair those left damaged.
During questions in parliament this week, member for Polwarth Richard Riordan said barriers along the Princes Highway and parts of the Great Ocean Road had been left broken and damaged and had allegedly stayed unrepaired for months.
“In light of the many millions being spent on installing new kilometres of wire rope barriers, and the millions that VicRoads are now spending on an advertising campaign to tell motorists how safe and necessary these barriers are, can motorists in my electorate have confidence that, unlike the myriad of potholes, unsafe intersections and other road dangers, this new road infrastructure will be properly maintained?” Mr Riordan said.
“Considering that kilometres of barriers have been installed, my constituents would like to know that they can and will be looked after in a timely and appropriate fashion.”
The State Government is in the process of rolling out more than 2000km of the flexible safety barriers, which aim to reduce the number of vehicles leaving the road or colliding head-on with others by up to 85 per cent.
Single vehicles leaving the roadway are one of the leading causes of fatalities and serious injuries on country roads.