A PETROL station will open near a crash-prone Hume Freeway intersection on the fringe of Wodonga.
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Construction is expected to start next month on a United Petroleum outlet on the corner of McKoy Street and Plunketts Road.
VicRoads North East regional director Nicki Kyriakou said the service station development would prompt a redesign of the McKoy Street- Hume Freeway intersection.
No longer will traffic directly flow across the freeway from McKoy Street to Old Barnawartha Road.
Instead vehicles will be forced to travel south or north beyond the intersection before doing a u-turn back if they want to cross the freeway.
Ms Kyriakou compared it to the freeway configuration at the Avenel roadhouse.
She said United Petroleum would fund the rejig at west Wodonga.
The petrol station development will cost up to $10 million and include a Pie Face cafe.
United Petroleum’s chief operating officer David Szymczak expects the first sod to be turned next month.
“We’re hoping to get into to starting to do things on the site in December and it will take until the middle of next year to build, so we expect to be open in six months,” Mr Szymczak said.
The station will include designated refuelling areas for cars and trucks and operate 24 hours a day.
The development follows a chequered past for the freeway intersection with its crash history resulting in that stretch of the Hume having its speed limit cut from 110km/h to 80km/h in March 2015.
Ms Kyriakou said it was unlikely the modifications precipitated by the petrol station would result in the 80km/h limit, which applies 12 hours per day, being lifted.
“At this stage the 80km/h we would still maintain between 7am and 7pm,” she said.
“We’ve seen a reduction in the severity of crashes, there are crashes that have occurred but the injuries have been less severe.
“We did have a period where we had 18 crashes over eight years, with 31 people being injured seriously.”
VicRoads is taking feedback on plans for the freeway between McKoy Street and the Bandiana Link until today with details, including maps, at makewodongayours.com.au.