Alternative Truck Route, Sale

We’re working with Wellington Shire to plan intersection upgrades, improve roads and strengthen bridges along the proposed Sale Alternative Truck Route to provide a safer and more efficient journey.

Update 

The project team is still planning this route. Extensive engagement with stakeholders and the community is ongoing.

Overview

Upgraded intersections

We are developing plans to upgrade 3 intersections along this route with roundabouts.

Roundabouts are the safest intersection treatment, potentially reducing fatal and serious injury crashes by up to 85%.

The  roundabouts would be single lane and 30m in diameter, which is large enough to cater for A-doubles. We have designed roundabouts with angles that will assist heavy vehicles to straighten up and prevent truck roll overs.

Each intersection would feature:

• improved lighting
• signage
• 80km/h speed limits on approaches.

Details

Sale-Heyfield Road/Fulham-Myrtlebank Road intersection

The T-intersection at this location presents a road safety concern, with 3 reported serious crashes resulting in 3 people being seriously injured in the past 11 years. There have also been many reports of near misses.

Many crashes have been caused by vehicles on Fulham-Myrtlebank Road failing to give way at Sale-Heyfield Road, and subsequently running through the T-intersection. There's also inadequate room for heavy vehicles to perform a right-hand turn onto Fulham-Myrtlebank Road.

A roundabout at the Sale-Heyfield Road/Fulham-Myrtlebank Road juncture would improve mobility, safety and traffic flow for all vehicles.

Maffra-Sale Road/Myrtlebank Road intersection

The staggered T-intersection at Maffra-Sale Road’s intersection with Fulham-Myrtlebank Road and Myrtlebank Road is the largest and busiest on the route, with 7500 vehicles travelling through it every day.

The proposed upgrade at this location would include a roundabout and the realignment of Myrtlebank Road to form the fourth leg of the intersection.

Myrtlebank Road/Princes Highway intersection

This proposal would upgrade the current intersection at this location with a roundabout and dedicated slip lane for trucks to merge eastbound onto the Princes Highway.

Road improvements

• Proposed improvements along the corridor would upgrade roads to ensure a safer route for everyone. Plans include widening lanes to 3.5m, the centre median to 2.2m and constructing 4m sealed shoulders. This would provide adequate room for large vehicles, like farm machinery, to pull over. 
• The road surface will be strengthened to cater for the increased traffic volume and heavy vehicles. The Thomson and Stirling bridges would be strengthened to accommodate load limits of up to 100 tonnes.

Road safety

• Several improvements are proposed for the route to create a safe road environment. These treatments would include the installation of edge-line and centre-line flexible safety barriers to prevent head-on and run-off-road crashes. 
• Centre-line barriers can reduce fatal and severe injuries in head-on road crashes by up to 90%. 
• Rumble strips would also be installed along the edge of the road shoulder. Rumble strips are tactile surfaces that generate an audible warning that alerts drivers to their vehicle veering out of its lane.

Benefits

Creating a formal alternative truck route around Sale would:

• reduce travel time by up to 5 minutes
• reduce the volume of heavy vehicle traffic through central Sale
• improve road safety in the town and along the alternative route
• help revitalise Sale as a tourism destination.

Have a say

Local businesses and the community have shared their experiences and offered suggestions to help shape the Sale Alternative Truck Route. During a 5-week community engagement period last year, more than 11,000 people were reached online and through face-to-face community engagement sessions.

You can read a summary of the feedback in our engagement update.

This feedback was reviewed and considered alongside our own technical data to plan upgrades and improvements.

Engagement with stakeholders and the community is ongoing.

We'll use the proposed plans to explore funding opportunities to implement these proposals in the future.

Get in touch

If you’d like more information or have any questions

Write: Regional Roads Victoria Eastern Region, PO Box 158, Traralgon 3844