Projects

South Gippsland Highway realignment, Korumburra (Coal Creek)

The Victorian Government has provided $300,000 to plan a proposed realignment of the South Gippsland Highway at Korumburra.

Project status:

Planned

Overview

The South Gippsland Highway is a major strategic link in Victoria’s rural road network. It is the main route to major ports and markets for industries such as agriculture, dairy, oil and gas, and provides access to major tourist destinations in South Gippsland.

Road users travelling along the South Gippsland Highway east of Korumburra are confronted with a change in road standard, with winding and narrow characteristics differing from other sections of this ‘A’ Class arterial road.

There were 17 reported crashes along this section of highway between July 2014 and June 2019 resulting in two people losing their lives and five being seriously injured.

In 2017, Regional Roads Victoria introduced a 60km/h speed limit at the Coal Creek curves as an immediate measure to improve safety.

Details

The proposed works would improve the road standard by realigning a 4.1km section of the South Gippsland Highway, south-east of Korumburra, by removing a number of sharp and winding curves.

As part of the road realignment, Regional Roads Victoria is investigating the inclusion of roadside and centre median safety barriers that would reduce the amount and severity of run-off-road crashes that currently occur on this section of highway.

Regional Roads Victoria is working closely with key stakeholders, including emergency services, the South Gippsland Shire Council, businesses and landowners, in this current planning stage.

Intersection improvements

The introduction of two roundabouts on Silkstone Road is being considered as part of the design of the highway realignment.

A roundabout on the realigned highway at the eastern edge of the town’s residential area, just north of the Coal Creek Motel, is being investigated.

A second, smaller roundabout at the intersection of Silkstone Road is also being considered. It would connect to both Rudville Avenue and the existing South Gippsland Highway.

The two roundabouts would provide safer access for vehicles entering and exiting the highway from Silkstone Road, and would regulate vehicle speeds as they enter residential areas of Korumburra.

Benefits

The proposed realignment would improve road safety, efficiency and reliability for motorists that travel along this 4.1km section of the South Gippsland Highway.

Have your say

Approximately 70 people attended our May 2019 community drop-in session at the Coal Creek Community Park and Museum in Korumburra.

As part of the session, we provided the opportunity for those attending to provide feedback on the proposed realignment and upgrades to the South Gippsland Highway at Coal Creek.

The results were overwhelmingly positive, with more than 92% of responses indicating support for the project.

Attendees also expressed support for the Silkstone Road intersection upgrades, though opinion was evenly divided between the single and dual roundabout options.

This feedback will help inform our planning alongside our own ongoing investigations.