The safety of 46 Victorian road ‘black spots’ will be substantially improved over the next 12 months.
Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister and Member for Hinkler, Keith Pitt, and Member for McMillan, Russell Broadbent, today announced $14.7 million for Victoria under the Black Spot Program’s 2018-19 funding round.
They were joined by the RACV’s Mobility Advocacy Manager and Member of the Victorian Black Spot Consultative Panel, Dave Jones, at the site of a black spot in Bunyip, where more than $850,000 has been allocated to install a new guard rail.
Mr Pitt said the Black Spot Program demonstrated the Coalition Government’s commitment to building safer roads across the nation.
“The Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) has found that, on average, Black Spot projects reduce the number of crashes causing death and injury by 30 per cent,” Mr Pitt said.
“The Black Spot Program provides much needed funding for safety measures such as traffic signals and roundabouts at dangerous locations.
“The Coalition Government is committed to getting people home safer and quicker and 46 new black spot projects being funded across Victoria are an important contribution towards reducing the national road toll.”
Mr Broadbent said this investment in black spot projects would deliver safer roads in 26 local government areas throughout Victoria.
“Locally this funding is making roads safer in Cardinia, Bass Coast and Baw Baw Shires with the projects including Main South Road at Drouin, Main Drain Road at Bunyip and works on Phillip Island.
“The works at Main Drain Road will see the installation of a safety barrier between Evans Road through to Little Road while works on Main South Road will include the sealing of the shoulders, installation of a skid resistance overlay as well as line marking,” Mr Broadbent said.
“Across all blackspots identified, a total of 241 casualty crashes were recorded at these sites over the past five years, including 11 accidents involving fatalities.
“The panel that reviews priorities for the program includes representatives from the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV), the Victorian Transport Association, Victoria Police, the Municipal Association of Victoria and VicRoads.”
Dave Jones from the RACV said local communities should get involved in the Black Spot Program.
“We encourage local communities to consider nominating sites with significant safety issues for future funding,” Mr Jones said.
“Many of these sites are in regional and rural areas, where further work needs to be done to improve the safety of roads.
“As our population grows, it’s essential that spending on safety measures and road maintenance keeps pace with higher traffic volumes.”
The Coalition Government has committed $744.5 million to the Black Spot Program from 2013-14 to 2021-22 to improve road safety across the nation.
For more information on the Australian Government’s Black Spot Program, or to nominate a black spot, visit: http://investment.infrastructure.gov.au/funding/blackspots/.
