Black spot road fix on Wimmera Highway
A stretch of road 8km east of Naracoorte on the Wimmera Highway is in the process of receiving a face lift, as part of the State Government¡¯s $8 million Black Spot program.
The road was identified as a dangerous area after a number of incidents were recorded between 2010 and 2014, with five casualty crashes resulting in two fatalities and three injuries.
State Road Safety Minister Peter Malinauskas visited the site on Wednesday as part of a visit to the SE.
Mr Malinauskas inspected the works, which are being carried out by Murray Bridge contractor Mike Mason Fencing.
¡°There have been road deaths and serious injuries along this stretch,¡± Mr Malinauskas said.
¡°Where you can get the sort of money to make this investment in road safety, it does dramatically reduce the risk of serious road crash incidents, especially when you have the tree line so close to the road.¡±
The works include shoulder sealing, line marking, reflective pavement markers, audio tactile line marking and guard fence installations, and are expected to be finished by early June.
The upgrade was announced late last year by then Road Safety Minister Tony Piccolo, with $1.3 million allocated to the region.
14 new road projects were identified for funding across SA.
¡°Eliminating black spots is an important part of providing a safe road network for all road users and this program is always looking at reducing problem areas where crashes are common,¡± Mr Piccolo said last year.
¡°In addition to the Government¡¯s investment, local councils have also contributed nearly $600,000 towards the projects.
¡°About $1.3 million will be invested on a five kilometre stretch of Wimmera Hwy aimed at reducing run-off and head-on type crashes.
¡°Another $1m will be invested to widen existing road shoulders on curves, remove hazards like trees and install more safety barrier on the Riddoch Hwy.
¡°Unfortunately there have been four casualty crashes here between 2010 and 2014, resulting in one fatality and three minor injuries.¡±
