The Australian Government has announced $33.3 million in funding towards improving 56 known crash sites under the 2024-25 Black Spot Program.
The latest round of funding is set to include traffic lights, safety barriers, roundabouts, line markings as well as pedestrian safety treatments at locations where serious crashes have occurred or are at risk of occurring.
The projects supported by the investment aim to make a significant contribution towards reducing road toll on Victorian roads.
Following previous investments across the states to improve road safety, the Australian Government has substantially increased Black Spot Program funding from $110 million to $150 million per year.
This is part of its response to the worsening road toll which includes doubling Roads to Recovery funding from $500 million to $1 billion a year and delivering a nationally harmonised set of data to inform road safety decision making.
Projects being funded this round include:
$1,365,000 for Eramosa Road and Graf Road in Somerville to install area-wide 40km/h speed with associated signs and 40km/h pavement markings as well as implementing speed reduction traffic management treatments.
$1,376,000 for Calder Highway and Belar Avenue in Irymple to widen the road and install a painted separator between the through lane and left turn lane as well as reconstructing the intersection pavement and install safety barrier to shield power poles.
$1,224,000 for MacArthur Street and Lansdowne Street in Sale to install a single lane roundabout, including pedestrian and cycling facilities.
Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Carol Brown, said that the investment will have a significant impact to roads across the state as well as helping to avoid further road tragedies.
“I am pleased to announce this latest round of Black Spot projects in Victoria, which will improve roads across the state,” she said.
“Every death on Victorian roads is a tragedy and could have been avoided.
“Local communities know where their most dangerous road locations are and their ability to nominate projects under this program and work with state and local experts in reviewing nominations is why this program is so successful.
“With the recent announcement of our increased commitment to this long-running program, I strongly encourage individuals, organisations, and local governments to nominate sites in their local communities for consideration in the next round of funding.”
Federal Member for Bendigo and Chair of the Victorian Black Spot Consultative Panel, Lisa Chesters, echoes this while highlighting the necessity for making these safety improvements.
“The Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics has found that Black Spot projects reduce the number of crashes causing death and injury by 30 per cent on average,” she said.
“At these 56 sites, we’ve seen 300 crashes occur in the five years to 2021. These figures make a clear case for the safety improvements that we’re announcing today.
“I know there is more work to be done, and encourage anyone who knows of a dangerous road location near them to consider submitting a nomination for future funding rounds.”
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