Joint funding of $8 million from the federal and Victorian governments will be spent on improvements between Wodonga and Mount Beauty, starting from early next year and finishing by 2020.

“Snow, floods and fire in the alpine area often lead to closures and detours, which significantly impacts a number of industries including the agricultural, timber and tourism,” VicRoads stated. 

“It’s also a hazardous stretch of road.  

“Many crashes have been recorded and tragically four people have lost their lives.”

Before plans are finalised, VicRoads is calling for the public to have its say on what safety needs to be done.

A community drop in session will be held at the Dederang Pub on Wednesday between 3.30pm and 6pm, where staff can talk to people about their concerns and which improvements should be prioritised.

Residents have been pushing for safety improvements to the road for more than a decade, including speed restrictions from 100km/h down to 80km/h or less.

The next lot of improvements will focus on safety barriers as well as shoulder sealing and changes to intersections.

VicRoads said the works would reduce the risk of crashes, protect the road from weather damaged and reduce travel times on the tourist route.

An 80-year-old woman died in March last year after the driver of another vehicle failed to give way when turning onto Kiewa Valley Highway in Wodonga.

The road was also the scene of a serious crash at Coral Bank in August 2016 where a woman was flown to hospital with spinal injuries after a head-on collision.