Grampians - Road Safety Program

Update - February 2022

Work is progressing on all Road Safety Program projects in the Grampians region, and many of the projects are already completed or nearing completion. 

What we're doing

Thanks to the Road Safety Program, we’re improving safety on roads in the Grampians region by installing barriers, which are designed to reduce road trauma and save lives.

The Road Safety Program supports the fast roll-out of lifesaving road safety treatments on rural and regional roads and promotes greater protection for vulnerable road users, like cyclists and pedestrians.

Safety upgrades to prevent head-on and run-off-road collisions

Upgrades include:

• Sunraysia Highway, Tanwood: Shoulder sealing and other safety improvements, works starting soon.
• Colac–Ballarat Road, Rokewood to Enfield: Shoulder sealing and other safety improvements, works starting soon.
• Western Highway - Ballarat to Beaufort: All works between Lake Burrumbeet and Beaufort are complete, with 61.3km of flexible safety barrier and 17km of guard rail installed. Work to install centre barriers along the eastbound lane of the Ballarat to Lake Burrumbeet section, between Carpenter Road and Dowling Road, will recommence in 2022. 

Widening:

• Nhill - Jeparit Road: Works starting soon.
• Pomonal Road: Works starting soon. 
• Warracknabeal - Birchip Road: Works starting soon.
• Horsham-Noradjuha Road: Works starting soon.

Upgraded roads:

• Western Highway - Beaufort to Buangor: All work is complete, with 51.5km of flexible safety barriers and 14.6km of guard rail installed.
• Colac-Ballarat Road (Enfield to Dereel): All work is complete, with shoulders fully sealed and barriers and rumble strips installed.
• Ararat-Halls Gap Road, Pomonal Road to Grampians Road: Shoulder sealing and the installation of 20km of rumble strips is complete. Final maintenance is underway.
• Maroona-Glenthompson Road, Willaura to Glenthompson: Shoulder sealing and the installation of 40km of rumble strips is complete. Final maintenance is underway.
• Midland Highway, Daylesford to Guildford: Installation of rumble strips and line-marking has been completed.
• Sunraysia Highway, Lillicur to Lamplough: Installation of rumble strips and line-marking has been completed.
• Wimmera Highway, Edenhope to South Australian border: Shoulder sealing and the installation of 85km of rumble strips is complete. Final maintenance is underway.
• Ballarat-Maryborough Road, Talbot to Maryborough: Installation of rumble strips and line-marking has been completed.

Widening:

• Dimboola-Rainbow Road: Work is complete.
• Nhill-Jeparit Road: Work is complete.
• Murtoa-Glenorchy Road: Work is complete. Minor repair work on defects in the road surface is expected to be complete by January 2022.
• Horsham-Kalkee Road: Work is complete. Repairs to sections damaged by recent heavy rainfalls is underway and expected to be complete by Christmas, weather permitting.

In 2015, head-on and run-off-road collisions were the most common type of crashes in Victoria and responsible for about 40 per cent of Victoria’s road deaths and serious injuries.

Safety upgrades to prevent intersection crashes

Upgrades include:

• Sunraysia Highway, Miners Rest: Works starting soon to install a side road activated sign. 
• Nhill-Netherby Road & Lorquon-Netherby Road: Works starting soon to upgrade the “Y’ intersection into a “T” intersection.

Upgraded intersections:

• Bungaree-Creswick Road and Creswick-Dean Road, Creswick: These works were completed in early May 2021. Work included new ‘keep left’, ‘give way’ and ‘give way ahead’ signs, and the installation of a concrete island.

Intersections pose a significant safety risk on our road network. With motorists, pedestrians and cyclists making turns and crossing paths, the risk of a crash is very high. Collisions at intersections have been the cause of an average of 30 per cent of deaths and 42 per cent of serious injuries on Victorian roads over the past five years from January 2015 to December 2019.

Through the program, various high-risk intersections will become safer with treatments including new turning lanes, new splitter islands, bell mouth widening, new lights and line marking improvements

Safety upgrades to prevent collisions involving pedestrians and cyclists

Upgrades include:

• Horsham CBD – Works starting soon to install areawide local area traffic management treatments.
• Strategic Cycling Corridor – Bacchus Marsh (Eastern Link). Construction is currently on hold. A 300m section has been completed north of the Werribee River. The path should be open to the public by the end of February 2022. 
• Strategic Cycling Corridor – Bacchus Marsh (Aqualink). The section of the shared-user path from Lerderderg River to Jonathan Drive is almost complete. Solar lighting has been installed in the section between Grey Street and Jonathan Drive, and this small section is now open to the public. The remaining work is to take place in early 2022 and includes fencing and path lighting. Construction of the Grey Street raised crossing will be undertaken during the Christmas/new year school holiday period. The full path should be open to the public by March 2022. 

Pedestrians and cyclists are completely exposed to the full force of a crash, making them some of our most vulnerable road users. Research shows that if a pedestrian or cyclist is hit by a car travelling at 60km/h they are unlikely to survive. In fact, a pedestrian’s or cyclist’s risk of death or serious injury increases where vehicles are traveling at speeds of 30 km/h and upwards.

Treatments delivered through the program will create a safer environment for pedestrians and cyclists with treatment including electronic speed limit signs, pathway connectivity, rail trail and on road cycling paths, audio clicking and improved traffic signal modifications at traffic lights.

Why we're doing it

Infrastructure plays a vital role in preventing serious crashes. It also helps to reduce the severity of crashes when they’re unavoidable.

Mistakes happen, which as humans we can’t always avoid. What we can do is build more forgiving road infrastructure so that when a mistake does happen on the road, it doesn’t cost a life.

These upgrades are being delivered by Regional Roads Victoria in partnership with the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) as we continue to work to deliver safer, connected journeys in Victoria, while supporting our economic recovery.

Get in touch

For more information about this project, please get in touch.

Email: [email protected]