Driving road safety
A SAFETY upgrade along two of Victoria’s most dangerous roads — the scene of five fatal accidents and 89 serious crashes in the past decade — is expected to be completed in a year.
The $12 million upgrade of Anglesea Rd and the Great Ocean Road between Freshwater Creek and BellbraeAnglesea Rd, which is partly complete, will add wider centre lines and 29km of wire barriers to help prevent crashes.
The work comes after 32 people were seriously injured on the 25km section of road — placed in the state’s 20 most dangerous roads — during the past decade.
Road Safety Minister Luke Donnellan said the upgrades would benefit two of the region’s fastest-growing corridors.
“We’ve listened to the local community and taken their feedback into account to ensure this road is safer, more re- liable and caters to the needs of everyone who uses it,” Mr Donnellan said.
He said the upgrade would include widening and sealing about 18km of road shoulder and installing rumble strips and raised reflective markers to alert drivers who move out of their lane.
The State Government said Anglesea Rd and the Great Ocean Road were used by about 14,000 vehicles a day, including 1400 commercial vehicles.
As part of the project, the road shoulder and centre line between Forest and Coalmine roads has been widened, and flexible safety barriers have been installed between Waurn Ponds and Freshwater Creek.
The upgrades are part of the Towards Zero Action Plan being delivered by the Transport Accident Commission and VicRoads, aiming to bring the road toll under 200 by 2020 and reduce serious road injuries by 15 per cent.
And work to create a four- legged $3.7 million roundabout in Fyansford is expected to be finished next month.
The work at the intersection of Hyland St, Deviation Rd, Atkins St and the Hamilton Highway would make it safer, the State Government said.
“This new roundabout will make this notorious intersection safer for locals and for traffic coming off the Hamilton Highway and into Geelong,” Geelong MP Christine Couzens said.