A notorious stretch of road, where five people tragically died over five years, is set for a $9.6 million safety overhaul.
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Beechworth-Wodonga Road was listed as one of the 20 riskiest roads in country Victoria last year following five fatalities and 14 crashes with serious injures.
Police and VicRoads have spent nine months investigating their options and asking for community advice, before coming up with a solution they hope will save lives.
A new roundabout will be built at the Yackandandah Road intersection, plus over 20 kilometres of flexible road safety barriers and tactile line-marking, which creates noise to alert drivers, will be installed.
An overtaking lane for Wodonga-bound traffic, between Edmondson and Star lanes, was planned to reduce head-on and run-off-road crashes.
An 80km/h speed limit will also be introduced through Wooragee, near the town’s primary school.
Senior Sergeant Darren Wittingslow has welcomed the Victorian government announcement, saying it would be $9.6m well-spent to save lives.
“All of those are great initiatives,” he said.
“VicRoads have done a lot of work and I’ve provided them with some crash data and gone on inspections with them.”
The roundabout will include a bend in the road to force motorists to slow down and some of the tactile line-marking will be in the centre of the road to alert drivers before they drift too far into the wrong lane.
“Every time you see another barrier get hit, you think ‘there’s another life saved,” Senior Sergeant Wittingslow said.
“It’s been a road of major concern just because of the volume of traffic.
“There’s a few unforgiving sections – if you lose control, you’re gone.”
A lower speed limit through Wooragee has been a long time coming, according to Senior Sergeant Wittingslow.
“It slows people down and gives them more time to react to local movements like at the school,” he said.
“It just makes a safer local environment.”
People who responded as part of a VicRoads community consultation had also advocated for the lower speed.
Barriers and and tactile line-marking will also be installed at the scene of a double fatal crash in Wooragee in August last year, where two cars were involved in a head-on collision along a straight section on road.
Northern Victoria MLC Jaclyn Symes announced the $9.6m in funding she said would help reduce the likelihood and severity of future crashes.
“The community have told us they want this dangerous road fixed, that’s why we’ve fast-tracked this upgrade to make it safer and easier for locals to get where they need to go,” she said.
“This upgrade will help to reduce the risk of serious injuries and ensure people get home safer and sooner every day.”
Works are expected to start on Tuesday.