The west Wodonga site has been subject to an 80km/h maximum between 7am and 7pm each day since 2015 with the previous 110km/h limit still applying for the other 12 hours.  

Now with a 24-hour United petrol station being built nearby, VicRoads is contemplating abandoning the faster maximum speed at night.

“We’ve been working with the community and land owners and the trucking industry and there has been some suggesting does it need to go to 80km/h 24/7 and that’s feedback we’re working into our team and we will look at with any decisions we make going forward,” VicRoads regional director Nicki Kyriakou said.

She added the “key consideration” was the likelihood of traffic flow rising at the intersection due to the petrol station’s opening hours.

Ms Kyriakou said such a change may even occur before United opens in October or November.

A constant 80km/h limit applies to southbound lanes of the Hume Freeway which pass fuel stations at Kalkallo near Melbourne.

The west Wodonga intersection has been undergoing a rejig, prompted by the opening of the petrol station, with vehicles on the freeway having to loop around a curve in the median strip to reach McKoy Street. 

A McKoy Street trader John Herring says even with the modifications a permanent 80km/h limit would be dangerous.

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“I just think 80km/h is still going to be too fast, if they don’t change what they’ve done,” Mr Herring said.

“To be safe, and I’ve said it to VicRoads … you’ve got to have it changed to 60km/h, given the way you’ve seen the P-turns set-up.

“The trucks had less distance to cross when they went straight across two lanes, rather than having to accelerate across two lanes from a standing start.”

Ms Kyriakou says the McKoy Street and Hume Freeway connection is now less risky.

“It’s certainly a safer intersection than what it was prior to these modifications,” she said. “We know this design is safer than the previous existing intersection.”

VicRoads has been forced to reshape the bends at the northern and southern ends of the new intersection after a trial found trucks faced problems with sight lines.

Ms Kyriakou said the extra work was not being solely funded by VicRoads.

“The $40,000 was a contribution, but the developer or the contractor would have needed to contribute to those modifications,” she said.

United Petroleum is the developer, with Excell Gray Bruni a key contractor.

The intersection is due to be opened to traffic by the end of next week.