The Victorian Government has begun a $49.5 million upgrade of Geelong-Bacchus Marsh Road between Lara and Maddingley – one of the most dangerous roads in Victoria.
The safety upgrades are part of the Victorian Government’s $1.4 billion Towards Zero Action Plan, which aims to reduce the death and injury toll from the state’s roads.
Victorian Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Luke Donnellan, has announced that early works have started on the first section between Lara and Balliang East – with major construction to begin shortly.
Over the last seven years, there have been 74 crashes on Geelong-Bacchus Marsh Road, with eight people having lost their lives and 50 people sustaining serious injuries.
To make the road safer, the road will be widened to accommodate a wider centreline between Heales Road and Peak School Road.
A centreline flexible safety barrier will be installed between Peak School Road and Little River Ripley Road to prevent head-on crashes and a left-hand side flexible safety barrier will be constructed at high-risk locations.
There will also be new overtaking lanes between Peak School Road and Carrs Road, a new roundabout at Elcho Road and intersection upgrades at Granite Road and Carrs Road.
Victoria’s new dedicated country roads body, Regional Roads Victoria, has received environmental and cultural heritage approvals to get the first stage works underway.
Some traffic delays are expected during construction and detours will be in place between Peak School Road and Little River Ripley Road.
Construction of this first section of work is expected to be completed by mid-2019.
Minister Donnellan said, “We promised to make this road safer to prevent run-off-road crashes and ultimately save lives – and we’re getting on with it.
“Whether it’s installing flexible safety barriers or fixing dangerous intersections, these works will help keep people safe on the road and ultimately save lives.”
