A $51.5 million safety upgrade on the Princes Highway East between Sale and Bairnsdale in Victoria has begun.
The project will upgrade 62km of the highway, installing left-hand side and centreline flexible safety barriers and rumble strips.
Sections of the road will also be widened and road shoulders will be sealed.
The Princes Highway East is one of Victoria’s most high-risk roads and has a history of fatalities and serious injuries.
Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Luke Donnellan, said, “Everyone makes mistakes on the road, but no one should die because of them. That’s why we’re investing $1 billion in life saving safety infrastructure like wire rope barriers.
“We’re rolling out more than 165km of wire rope barrier on the Princes Highway East between Sale and Bairnsdale to stop run-off road crashes and keep people safe on this critical arterial road.”
Work to install 165km of flexible safety barrier will start in the coming weeks, and once installed the barriers will prevent head-on and run-off-road crashes, rolling vehicles and crashes into roadside hazards.
Breaks of at least 40m in the barriers will align with properties to allow safe access for residents and emergency service vehicles as well as space for B-doubles to turn safely.
Two overtaking opportunities will be added near Lindenow Road.
The design of the upgrade is being finalised following extensive community consultation which included community information sessions, door-knocking and pop-up information stands.
The Victorian Government is investing $1 billion to improve safety on high-risk arterial roads, rolling out more than 2000km of flexible safety barriers across the state.
The project is being delivered as part of the Victorian Government’s Towards Zero Road Safety Strategy in partnership with the Transport Accident Commission and VicRoads.
