Projects

Barwon Heads Road, Blackrock Road intersection safety upgrades

We’re getting ready to start construction of the new roundabout at the intersection of Barwon Heads Road, Blackrock Road and Staceys Road in Connewarre.

Project status:

Underway

Update - February 2024

Preliminary works, such as removing vegetation around the intersection and relocating extensive underground utility services, is underway.

In late 2023, vegetation removal was intentionally scheduled for the end of the peak spring breeding season to minimise impacts to wildlife. Underground services will start being relocated after the busy summer holiday period in 2024.

We’ll start construction of the roundabout once preliminary works are complete. More information on the construction delivery schedule will be made available closer to the start of active construction.

We thank you for your patience.

Overview

This intersection upgrade will improve safety for all road users, including people driving, walking and riding in the area.

What we’re doing

This safety upgrade project includes:

building a new roundabout, which will reduce the risk and severity of collisions by slowing the flow of traffic
relocating underground utility services, including power, water and telecommunication cables
installing dedicated on-road bicycle lanes on Barwon Heads Road
installing turning lanes into the Barwon Heads airport
relocating the existing bus stops at the intersection
upgrading line marking, signage, and street lighting to improve visibility of the intersection
removing vegetation at the intersection, to improve visibility, provide access to underground utility services, and allow for the roundabout to be constructed
implementing a safer speed limit of 80km/h through the intersection to improve safety for all road users
installing new pedestrian concrete paths and pedestrian refuges, to make it safer to cross Barwon Heads Road.

What to expect

Look out for signs alerting to changed conditions and allow extra time for your journey, as delays are expected.

During works, changed road conditions include:

a reduced speed limit of 40km/h through the worksite
traffic management onsite to safely direct traffic
occasional side road closures, with signed detours when required, with contraflow traffic management in place
reduced lane widths.

We’ll do everything we can to minimise disruptions to nearby residents, businesses, and visitors to the area.

Thank you for your patience while we complete these important upgrades.

Background

Traffic is increasing along Barwon Heads Road, due to tourism, population growth, urban and commercial development across Geelong, the Bellarine Peninsula, and the Surf Coast.

In the ten-year period to December 2022, there have been four serious injury crashes and one other type of injury crash at this intersection.

More than 10,000 vehicles travel along Barwon Heads Road (between Lower Duneed Road and the Barwon Heads township) each day during the peak summer season, including approximately 1000 trucks.

Road safety infrastructure plays a vital role in preventing serious crashes. It also helps to reduce the severity of crashes when they are unavoidable.

Community feedback

Conversations were held with community and stakeholders over 2018 and 2019, followed by the purchase of land at the corners of the intersection.

Community feedback helped inform design features, including:

safer opportunities for people entering, exiting and crossing the road
dedicated cycling lanes on Barwon Heads Road
improved lighting at the intersection
improved parking options for parents dropping children off at the school bus stops
dedicated lanes for vehicles entering the Barwon Heads Airport driveway, and
vegetation management to improve line-of-sight at the intersection.

Environment

We share the value the community places on the environment. Our project teams develop designs that retain as much vegetation as possible. We work with independent ecologists and arborists through the design phase. When vegetation is removed, experts are on-site to monitor local wildlife.

We partner with environmental groups, conservation partners and local government to repurpose and reuse as much timber as possible from trees removed from infrastructure projects, and replant native vegetation in local areas.

Examples of how we repurpose timber include partnering with local catchment management authorities to create ‘fish hotels’ to promote aquatic habitats in local waterways, stumps can be repurposed for wildlife parks and playgrounds, and mulched materials are often shared with schools and local government to use on garden beds and playgrounds.

Project funding

In 2022-23 the Victorian Government invested $5.2 million to improve safety at the intersection of Barwon Heads Road, Blackrock Road and Staceys Road in Connewarre. This is in addition to $2.9 million provided in 2017-18 to complete planning and designs for this safety project, and for the purchase of land at the intersection.