Work is underway on a $37 million safety upgrade to install wire rope barriers along the Western Freeway between the Western Ring Road and Ballarat in Victoria.
In 2017, existing flexible safety barriers on the Western Freeway were hit 147 times. That’s 147 potentially deadly crashes prevented.
Regional Victoria remains over-represented in fatalities with the number of lives lost on rural roads up from 150 to 155 in 2017, while Victoria’s overall lives lost figure fell from 290 in 2016 to 257 last year.
Minister for Roads and Roads Safety, Luke Donnellan, said, “We’re installing these barriers because they are proven to save lives – it’s simple as that.”
Victorians are five times more likely to die on rural roads than in the city, that’s why the Victorian Government is investing in flexible safety barriers, rumble strip line-marking and overtaking lanes on the state’s most high-risk rural roads.
In addition to the safety improvements, the Victorian Government has doubled VicRoads road maintenance budget with a $556 million package announced in last year’s budget.
