Country Roads Your insights, our actions - Connecting our communities - VicRoads

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Country Roads Your insights, our actions - Connecting our communities - VicRoads
Connecting
                             our communities

Country Roads
Your insights, our actions
Country Roads Your insights, our actions - Connecting our communities - VicRoads
Contents                                                         Introduction

01
Introduction
                   06
                   What we’re doing
                                      16
                                      Rebuilding Country Roads   Your feedback is now shaping the most
                   region by region
                                                                 significant period of planning, construction,
                                                                 maintenance and uplift of the regional road
                                                                 network since World War Two.
02
Where we went
                   06
                   Barwon
                                      18
                                      Road Safety
                   South West                                    The senior leadership team at VicRoads     The desire for better links               Not accepting that you’re four times
                                                                 has visited every part of Victoria this    between regions, safer                    more likely to die on country roads in
                                                                 year, having frank conversations about                                               Victoria than on metropolitan roads,
                                                                 the state of the roads and what can be
                                                                                                            overtaking opportunities                  we will explore a star road safety rating
                                                                 done to better support regions to grow     and investment in sealed                  system to encourage travel on the
                                                                 and thrive.                                shoulders were commonly                   safest routes and target road safety
                                                                                                            raised, along with concerns               improvements.

04                                    26
                                                                 This has been the biggest public
                                                                 engagement that VicRoads has ever          about poor roadside                       We’ll also be making a much bigger

What you told us   08
                   Grampians
                                      Enhancing regional
                                      Victoria
                                                                 done in its 100 year history. Your insights
                                                                 are now helping us put sensible plans
                                                                 to government to support the future
                                                                                                            drainage and pot-holes.
                                                                                                             So what happens now?
                                                                                                                                                      effort to reduce our environmental
                                                                                                                                                      impacts, from recycling a million tyres
                                                                                                                                                      to re-vegetating roadsides.
                                                                 growth of regional Victoria.                Your feedback is shaping the most
                                                                                                             significant period of planning,          Victorians told us they want much
                                                                 With the population outside Melbourne       construction, maintenance and uplift     greater transparency about what is
                                                                 expected to double to two million           of the regional road network since       happening on their roads. VicRoads
                                                                 people within 20 years, now is the time     World War Two. Work is ramping           will produce a State of the Roads
                                                                 to begin the modernisation of the road      up across every region: from major       report to be clear about current road
                                                                 network for the next generation, to         highway duplications to improving        conditions and better inform future
                                                                 strengthen links between and around                                                  decisions by government.

                                      30
                                                                                                             signage, cycling paths and road safety
                                                                 growing centres.                            treatments that will make it almost
                   10
                                                                                                                                                      And it won’t stop there. As part of
                                                                 Country Roads sums up what we heard impossible to run off the road or hit            Transport for Victoria’s development
                   Gippsland          Road maintenance           and saw and what is now being done          another car head-on across all major     of an integrated regional roads
                                                                 to rebuild the regional road network to     interstate highways.                     strategy for medium and long-
                                                                 support a new era of regional prosperity. Alongside the doubling of road             term improvements, your feedback
                                                                                                           maintenance this year, planning is         will be considered by the Victorian
                                                                 You have told us plainly: fix the roads
                                                                                                           underway for improvements that             Government as we prepare projects
                                                                 that need fixing because they are our
                                                                                                           will set regional Victoria up for          for funding consideration in the future.
                                                                 lifelines; make it safer and easier for
                                                                 us to move around without hurting         continued growth. We will work much        Thanks to everyone for their invaluable
                                                                 ourselves or damaging our goods; and      more closely with local regions to         feedback that is informing a sensible

                                      32
                                                                 help set our regions up for tourism and   understand changing traffic volumes        plan of action for country roads
                                                                                                           and regional economies, and we will
                   12
                   Hume               Next steps
                                                                 economic growth while giving people
                                                                 better connections to job opportunities partner with Visit Victoria to develop
                                                                 and each other.                           new tourist drives to attract more
                                                                                                                                                      in Victoria.
                                                                                                                                                      John Merritt
                                                                                                           tourists to stay longer.                   Chief Executive, VicRoads

                   14
                   Loddon Mallee

                                                                                                                                                                Connecting our communities / 1
Country Roads Your insights, our actions - Connecting our communities - VicRoads
Where we went
                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Country Roads statewide engagement
                          Mildura

                                                                                          NSW

                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Connected with
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Met with                    Spoke with more
                                                                                                                                                                                                                           more than 11,000
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      30 councils                 than 700 people
                                                       Wemen                                                                                                                                                               country Victorians

                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Engaged with freight operators, transport industry, businesses,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                           tourism operators, environmental and wildlife groups, cycling
                                                                                                                                                                                                                           enthusiasts, motorcycle groups, government agencies, the Victorian
                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Farmer’s Federation, RACV and Regional Development Victoria.
                                                                              Swan Hill

                                                       Sea Lake
                                                                                                                                                                                              NSW

                                                                                                               Kerang

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Wodonga
                                    Warracknabeal                                     Charlton

                  Nhill
                                                                                                                                                               Shepparton                            Wangaratta

SA                                             Dooen
                                                                                                                         Bendigo                                                                                           Bright

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          NSW

                                                                   Stawell                             Maryborough                                                                       Mansfield
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Omeo
                                                                                                                                      Broadford
                                                               Ararat

                                                                                                                                   Woodend

                                                                                                             Ballarat

                                                                                                                                                  Melbourne Metro
                                         Hamilton
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Bairnsdale

                                                                                                                                                                                                               Stratford
                                                                                                           Bannockburn

                                                                                                                           Geelong

                                                                                                                                                                                                     Morwell
                                                               Warrnambool                         Colac
                             Portland                                                                         Anglesea                                                      Korumburra
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Community session
                                                                    Port Campbell                      Lorne

                                                                                                                                                         Wonthaggi                                                                                              Stakeholder session
                                                                                      Apollo Bay                                                                                                                                                                                              Map not to scale
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Roads travelled

2 / VICROADS COUNTRY ROADS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Connecting our communities / 3
Country Roads Your insights, our actions - Connecting our communities - VicRoads
What you told us
                                                                                                                        Statewide feedback
                                                                                                                                  feedback
  Grampians                              Loddon Mallee                           Hume
  • Changing face of farming with        • More river crossings                  • Significant intermodal freight       Road maintenance                            Regional economies
    bigger machinery                     • Support for tourism in Charlton,        opportunities                        You want better road maintenance            Understand the changing face of
  • Supporting more grain on to rail       Echuca and Wedderburn                 • Shepparton Bypass a priority         including more shoulder grading,            farming with fewer and larger farms
    instead of road                      • Alternative truck routes              • Road safety a critical concern       better surface repairs, more vegetation     with bigger machinery on the roads
  • Better connections for freight         to avoid towns                        • More can be done to improve          management and better quality long          and growing export demands, including
    into Melbourne                       • Safer cycling routes                    key tourism destinations             term fixes.                                 more opportunities for rail freight.
  • Tourism growing through Silo         • Protection of wildlife and native     • Road signage is important
    Art Trail, the Grampians, Sea Lake     plant species                         • Improve roads to keep pace with      Road safety                                 Environment
  • Wind farm development                • Intensive farming of almonds,           increased population, tourism        You want sealed shoulders, smoother         You expressed concern about native
  • Ballarat regional growth needs         carrots and other produce               and industry                         roads, widening of narrow roads,            plant species being lost and wildlife in
    support                                has impacts                           • Interface with freight and growing   more safe overtaking opportunities          danger. We need to do more to protect
  •                                      • Better connections for freight          residential areas                    and safer speeds around schools             the environment by minimising impact
    Melbourne and other regional           from Mildura to Melbourne             • Cycling safety along the Great       and shopping areas.                         on trees, revegetating the road reserve
    centres                              • More freight to be moved by rail        Alpine Road                                                                      and use recycled materials in road works.
                                                                                                                        Tourism
  • Bypasses along Western Highway       • Removing trucks from Mildura’s        • New ways to inform drivers of                                                    Road safety barriers
                                                                                                                        Better support tourism by improved
  • Importance of protecting               town centre                             unique weather conditions in
                                                                                                                        signage, more rest areas, use of            You want to know why so much money
    roadside native vegetation           • Improve roads to keep pace with         Alpine region
                                                                                                                        technology to share tourist information,    is being invested in them and how they
  • Growing horticulture                   increased population, tourism         • Safety around schools and main
                                                                                                                        more road safety messages and               save lives.
  • Tourism potential of                   and industry                            streets on country highways
                                                                                                                        upgrades to key tourism routes.
    the Grampians                                                                • Choke points in Wangaratta                                                       Cycling
                                                                                   and Rutherglen                       Trucks                                      You want more bike paths/lanes and
                                                                                                                        You want trucks out of towns and wider      better road maintenance for commuter
                                                                                                                        shoulders where trucks, cars and bikes      and recreational cyclists.
                                                                                                                        share the road. Strengthen bridges,
                                                                                                                        upgrade intersections, add rest areas and   Connectivity
                                                                                                                        provide more overtaking opportunities       Better road connections between
                                                                                                                        along key freight routes to enable bigger   regional centres including Geelong,
                                                                                                                        and more productive trucks.                 Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton, Benalla,
                                                                                                                                                                    Mansfield and links in Gippsland.

                                                                                                                                                                    Gippsland
                                                                                                                                                                    • Better north-south connections
  Barwon South West                                                                                                                                                 • Alternative truck routes around
                                                                                                                                                                      growing towns
  • Major reconstruction of roads                                                                                                                                   • Growing number of commuters
    serving Port of Portland                                                                                                                                          across Gippsland
  • Keeping Great Ocean Road                                                   Melbourne                                                                            • Longer-stay tourism potential
    open for tourism                                                           Metro                                                                                  between Mt Baw Baw, Phillip
  • Widening narrow seal roads                                                                                                                                        Island, Wilson’s Promontory
    used by freight, school buses                                                                                                                                     and East Gippsland
    and tourists                                                                                                                                                    •
  • Multilingual signage for                                                                                                                                          Phillip Island
    international tourists                                                                                                                                          • Growing freight task with
  • Enormous residential, commuter                                                                                                                                    intensive agriculture
    and tourism growth                                                                                                                                              • Growing demand for cycling
  • Safer cycling opportunities                                                                                                                                     • Dairy farms getting larger with
  • More inland routes to relieve                                                                                                                                     oversized equipment on roads
    Great Ocean Road congestion                                                                                                                                     • Sealing of gravel roads

                                                                                                                                                                    *The VicRoads Country Roads engagement was
                                                                                                                                                                    based on Regional Development Victoria’s five
Map not to scale                                                                                                                                                    Victorian Regions and nine Regional Partnerships.

  4 / VICROADS COUNTRY ROADS                                                                                                                                                           Connecting our communities / 5
Country Roads Your insights, our actions - Connecting our communities - VicRoads
What you told us
region by region
Barwon South West

Aireys Inlet, Anglesea, Apollo Bay,
Camperdown, Colac, Geelong,
Hamilton, Lorne, Port Campbell,                                                                                                                                                                         17
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Melbourne
Port Fairy, Portland, Torquay and                                                                                                                                                                                  18

Warrnambool.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       20
                                                                                                                                                                       4                                                                          16
                                                                                                                                                                                           8       22
                                                                                                                            35                                                                                                                          21
                                                                                                                                            37                                                                                                    27 32
                                                                                                                                                                                  14                                                               30 26    13
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12 40    39
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   38
“Better signage is required for major
tourist destinations. Too many times
                                           “Identify the worst roads In Victoria
                                           based on the state of the roads
                                                                                      “We have school buses,                                                                                   5    9                                                   28 2
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       25 10

                                                                                      we have tourists, we
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            1
have there been incidences and near        themselves and fix them.”                                                                             6
                                                                                                                                                                      30                                                                     23
misses from travellers missing the turn
for Bells Beach and still attempting to
                                           – comment on the                           have parents taking their                                                                                                                         34
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   29 3 36
                                           Barwon online forum
make the turn in a 100km/hr zone…                                                     children to and from                                                                                               15
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     19
                                                                                                                                                                                                                        7
Signs need to be well in advance of        “I am a 30-year resident of the Aire       school and you combine                                                                                                                    33
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  31

the turn.”                                 Valley… I/we are sick to death of the
– comment on the                           annual state of the roads between          it with logging trucks, it’s                                                                                                 24

Barwon online forum                        here and Colac, especially the eternally   just a bad combination.”                                                                                                11

                                           potholed and surface broken Ridge Rd,
“Reduce traffic on Great Ocean Rd by       Lavers Hill to Beech Forest.”              – Leonie - Portland community forum
improving and sealing inland roads         – Pete Gee
to Lorne and Wye River. Add slow
turn out lanes and run advertising         “The Midland has twice the traffic
campaigns on their use.”                   between Bannockburn and Geelong                                                  What we’re doing now
– Allen                                    as between Geelong and Colac – yet
                                           is often seen as the poor cousin to the                                          Major upgrades                             13   Geelong-Portarlington Road                                 27 $3m Fyansford-Gherringhap Road,
“We recently returned from a               Princes Highway West.”                                                                                                                                                                         shoulder and barrier
                                                                                                                            1 $363m Princes Highway                    14   Terang-Mortlake Road
caravanning holiday in South Australia     – comment from a Bannockburn                                                        duplication, Waurn Ponds                15   Carlisle-Colac Road                                        28 $2m Lower Duneed Road shoulder,
and NSW … we knew when we were             resident at the Ballarat forum                                                      to Colac*                                                                                                  drainage and barrier
back in Victoria because the first thing                                                                                                                               16   Geelong-Ballan Road
                                                                                                                            2 $109m Drysdale Bypass                                                                                    29 Deans Marsh-Lorne Road,
we encountered was one of those            “When roads get upgraded, VicRoads                                                                                          17   Skipton Road                                                  improvements for motorcyclists
                                                                                                                            3 $100m Great Ocean Road upgrade
‘Rough Surface’ signs that Victoria are    need to also create paths along major                                               with road resurfacing, bridge           18   Rokewood-Skipton Road                                      30 West Geelong and Warrnambool,
famous for. We also found that there       arterials so people don’t have to drive                                             strengthening and other targeted                                                                           improvements for pedestrians
are many roads in Victoria where it is     everywhere and riders don’t have to                                                 improvments*                            Safety upgrades
really dangerous to tow a caravan.”        mix with traffic.”                                                                                                          19 $53m for safety improvements to                              $18m bridge strengthening
                                                                                                                            4 $40m improvement works from
                                                                                                                                                                          Great Ocean Road to reduce the                               and replacement
– Trevor Brehaut                           – Tony G                                                                            Colac to South Australian border,
                                                                                                                                                                          risk of landslides and make the road                         31 Great Ocean Road, Wye River
                                                                                                                               safety upgrade, intersection
                                                                                                                                                                          more resilient
                                                                                                                               improvements, more overtaking                                                                           32 Cowies Creek and rail spur,
                                                                                                                               opportunities*                          20 $46m for safety improvements to                                 North Geelong (four bridges)
                                                                                                                                                                          41 kilometres of Geelong-Bacchus
                                                                                                                            5 $40m upgrade of narrow roads*                                                                            33 Wye River
                                                                                                                                                                          Marsh Road, including centre line
                                                                                                                            6 $40m to strengthen and resurface            safety barriers, overtaking lanes and                        34 Moggs Creek
                                                                                                                               four key roads servicing the Port of       new roundabouts
                                                                                                                               Portland (Green Triangle upgrade)*                                                                      Planning underway
                                                                                                                                                                       21 $17m Princes Highway, Laverton
                                                                                                                            7 $10m Forrest-Apollo Bay Road                North to Waurn Ponds, safety                                 35 Princes Highway west, Colac to the
                                                                                                                               upgrade*                                   barriers                                                        South Australian border
                                                                                                                            8 $10m Hamilton Highway upgrade*           22 $10m Hamilton Highway, key                                   36 Anglesea Road, Princes Highway
                                                                                                                            9 $1.3m for an independent taskforce          freight route to western Victoria                               west to Coombes Road duplication
                                                                                                                               to boost tourism and improve            23 $12m Anglesea Road/Great Ocean                               37 Great South Coast High
                                                                                                                               coordination                               Road, Bellbrae to Anglesea, new                                 Productivity Freight Vehicle
                                                                                                                                                                          roundabouts, centre-line widening                               Planning
                                                                                                                            $95m road maintenance                         and intersection improvements                                38 Barwon Heads Road, duplication
                                                                                                                            and repair, including:
                                                                                                                                                                       24 $4m Cape Otway, shoulder                                     39 Grubb Road, Ocean Grove
                                                                                                                            10 Barwon Heads Road                          and barrier                                                  40 Geelong Ring Road extension
                                                                                                                            11 Otway Lighthouse Road                   25 $4m Barwon Heads, roundabout                                    (Bellarine Link)
                                                                                                                            12 Fyans Street, Geelong                   26 $3m Geelong CBD, cycling and
                                                                                                                                                                          pedestrian upgrades
                                                                                                                            *Joint Federal and State funding
6 / VICROADS COUNTRY ROADS                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Connecting our communities / 7
Country Roads Your insights, our actions - Connecting our communities - VicRoads
What you told us
region by region
Grampians

Ararat, Avoca, Bacchus Marsh, Ballarat,
                                                                                                                       3

                                                                                                                                                                    8

Beaufort, Daylesford, Edenhope,                                                                                                                     9
                                                                                                                                                                        14

Great Western, Hopetoun, Horsham,
Kaniva, Nhill, St Arnaud, Stawell and                                                                                                                   2
                                                                                                                                                                                           29

Warracknabeal.
                                                                                                                                                                                 7
                                                                                                                                                                                                                     33
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          11          17
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            27
“The Midland Highway has a lot of
commuter traffic so many school
                                           “You get grain centres popping up
                                           on road networks that never used
                                                                                      “One thing that’s come                                                                 1   36 37
                                                                                                                                                                                      38               20           12
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            26
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           28
                                                                                                                                                              31
                                                                                      up is the Silo Art Trail
                                                                                                                                                                                                          13
                                                                                                                                                                                                     23
zones – it needs to become a regional      to be there and tourism’s obviously                                                                                                                  15    22
                                                                                                                                                                                                         25
                                                                                                                                                                                                               16                     5
                                                                                      and the number of
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         19 30
ring road that links Geelong, Ballarat,    picked up a fair bit and now we have                                                                         6
                                                                                                                                                                                           35 34               32                4 24
Bendigo, Shepparton, Benalla and           things like Silo Art Trails and Sea Lake                                                                                                                                                                   Melbourne
Mansfield.”                                becoming of international interest,        tourists that we have                                                                                                                      21
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 10
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 18

- Comment at Ballarat                      which changes the dynamic of the           coming up this way
stakeholder forum                          whole area.”
                                           – Kevin Erwin, Chair of the
                                                                                      who aren’t familiar
“I have travelled the Western Highway
                                           Wimmera Southern Mallee                    with the roads. We
many times over my life and have
always just loved the roadside
                                           Transport Group.                           have farmers with large
vegetation…Roadsides have changed,         “The proposed CVLX Saleyards               machinery that are
which is sad for me, but we’re working
with VicRoads to make sure that
                                           development has only one entry point
                                           off Sunraysia Highway. There must be
                                                                                      on roads and people
there’ll be trees and vegetation that is   safe access for heavy vehicles into/out    are just not expecting
grown somewhere else.”                     of the saleyards.”                         those things.”
- Helen Lewers, environmental
advocate at the Ararat community
                                           - Marla Stone, Miner’s Rest –
                                                                                      – Debra Nelson, Mayor of
                                                                                                                 What we’re doing now
                                           online forum                                                                                                 Safety upgrades                                                  27 Mt Macedon-Hanging Rock Road,
forum                                                                                 Hindmarsh Shire Council    Major upgrades                         18 Western Freeway, M80 Ring Road                                   Mt Macedon Road to Lancefield-
                                           “VicRoads needs to focus on long                                      1 $670m Western Highway                    to Ballarat, barriers both sides                                Woodend Road, improvements for
“As a routine driver between Adelaide      lasting results rather than temporary                                    duplication
and Melbourne.... the state of the road                                                                                                                 19 Pykes Creek curve, road                                          motorcyclists
                                           repairs.”                                                             2 $20m Western Highway                     realignment                                                  28 Mt Macedon Road, Macedon-
surface, markings and alignment is
                                           - Wimmera Mallee                                                      3 Western Highway, Kaniva to the       20 $12m Midland Highway upgrade                                     Woodend Road to Mt
seriously substandard.... the lack of                                                                               South Australian border
                                           stakeholder comment                                                                                              from Ballarat to Creswick with                                  Macedon-Hanging Rock Road,
bypasses is at the top of the list...”                                                                           4 $15m upgrade Halletts Way                flexible safety barriers, three                                 improvements for motorcyclists
- David Singe – online forum               “Speed limits are a key concern and                                      interchange, Bacchus Marsh*             new roundabouts at Millers Rd,
                                                                                                                                                            Cummins Rd and Kennedys Rd, as                               Bridge strengthening
                                           there are mixed views as to how to
                                                                                                                 $58m road maintenance and repair           well as new overtaking lanes and                             29 Maryborough-St Arnaud Road
                                           respond. Some suggest reducing
                                                                                                                 5 Bacchus Marsh-Gisborne Road              wider road shoulders.                                        30 Western Freeway, Pykes Creek
                                           speed limits to increase road users’
                                                                                                                 6 Glenelg Highway                      21 $46m for safety improvements to                               31 Mortlake-Ararat Road
                                           and wildlife safety. Others suggest                                                                              41 kilometres of Geelong-Bacchus
                                                                                                                 7 Pyrenees Highway
                                           raising speed limits to increase traffic                                                                         Marsh Road, including centre-line                            Planning underway
                                           efficiency.”                                                          8 Sunraysia Highway
                                                                                                                                                            safety barriers, overtaking lanes                            32 Midland Highway, Howitt Street to
                                                                                                                 9 Wimmera Highway
                                           - Wimmera Mallee                                                                                                 and new roundabouts                                              Coronet Street, Ballarat
                                                                                                                 10 Geelong-Bacchus Marsh Road          22 Ballarat CBD, cycling
                                           stakeholder feedback                                                                                                                                                          33 Midland Highway, Castlemaine to
                                                                                                                 11 Daylesford-Malmsbury Road               improvements                                                     Harcourt capacity improvements
                                                                                                                 12 Ballan-Daylesford Road              23 Western Freeway/Ballarat-                                     34 Midland Highway, duplication
                                                                                                                 13 Bungeree Creswick Road                  Maryborough Road, intersection                                   of the roundabout at Docwra St
                                                                                                                 14 Borung Highway                          upgrade                                                          intersection
                                                                                                                 15 Ballarat-Carnham Road               24 Gisborne Road/Western Freeway,                                35 Midland Highway/Hertford Street
                                                                                                                 16 Western Highway/Freeway                 intersection upgrade                                             intersection upgrade
                                                                                                                 17 Calder Highway                      25 Midland Highway, Ballarat to                                  36 Western Highway/Ararat - Stawell
                                                                                                                                                            Creswick                                                     37 Ararat Bypass*
                                                                                                                                                        26 Daylesford-Trentham Road,                                     38 Beaufort Bypass*
                                                                                                                                                            Lancefield to Woodend,
                                                                                                                                                            improvements for motorcyclists

                                                                                                                 *Joint Federal and State funding
8 / VICROADS COUNTRY ROADS                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Connecting our communities / 9
Country Roads Your insights, our actions - Connecting our communities - VicRoads
What you told us
region by region
                                                                                                                                                                                                                    33

Gippsland                                                                                                                                                                                                                14

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             6

Bairnsdale, Churchill, Drouin, Foster,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         5

                                                                                                                                                                                      32                                            15       42
                                                                                                                  Melbourne                                                                                                              4

Inverloch, Korumburra, Lakes Entrance,                                                                                                                                                                       18 2
                                                                                                                                                                                                                    27
                                                                                                                                                                                                                              11
                                                                                                                                                                                                                               17

Leongatha, Mallacoota, Moe, Morwell,                                                                                                                                                                   12
                                                                                                                                                                                                       19

Omeo, Orbost, Phillip Island, Sale,                                                                                                                                     30 34 24 9                 1    40
                                                                                                                                                            35                                21
                                                                                                                                                                 28   25 20           1
                                                                                                                                                                               26
                                                                                                                                                                                  16 38
                                                                                                                                                                          36 37

Traralgon, Warragul and Wonthaggi.                                                                                                                 41
                                                                                                                                                                                          7

                                                                                                                              23
                                                                                                                       8                 10
                                                                                                                               31
                                                                                                                                    29        39        3
“All Victorians deserve rural roads
that they can rely on. The poor road
                                            “You can drop speed limits, you can fix
                                           roads, it won’t change a thing. The true
                                                                                      “Milk trucks, quarry                                         43 22

condition that users experience should     cause of road accidents is dangerous       trucks, the amount                                                              13
be addressed.”                             drivers. We will only see improvements
                                           when people start to take care when
                                                                                      of heavy traffic has
- comment on Morwell forum
                                           driving and stop making excuses.”          doubled. The roads
“The road from Stratford to Maffra was     - Josh Stuchbery – Facebook                don’t improve, they
built probably 100 years ago, it’s just
breaking up all the time.”                 “I’ve been in the industry for 40 years
                                                                                      get worse.”
– George Haywood, Briagolong               and I know what we’re on about, we’re
                                                                                      – John Benson - Stratford
                                                                                                                     What we’re doing now
                                           on about the road conditions. The
                                                                                      community forum                Major upgrades                                                            Safety upgrades                           30 Moe West, new truck stop and
“We would like speed limits reduced        road conditions are poor. We’ve got
                                                                                                                     1 $260m Princes Highway East                                              17 Paynesville Road, Bairnsdale to           freeway ramp upgrades
in Omeo, improved overtaking               a white line separates B-doubles, the
                                                                                                                        duplication, Traralgon East,                                               Paynesville, centre-line widening     31 Bass Highway/Korumburra-
opportunities, better access for pulling   roads aren’t wide enough.”
                                                                                                                        Nambrok and Fulham                                                         and barriers                             Wonthaggi Road, traffic lights*
off on the side of roads, and the drains   – Rick Ingram, B-double driver,                                           2 $51.5m safety upgrades between                                          18 Princes Highway East, Sale to          32 Great Alpine Road, Licola to
must be cleaned more regularly.”           Bairnsdale                                                                   Sale and Bairnsdale                                                        Bairnsdale, centre-line barriers         Heyfield, improvements for
- Cate Spencer,                                                                                                      3 $50m South Gippsland Highway                                            19 Maffra-Sale Road, Sale to Maffra,         motorcycle riders
Omeo community forum                       “If we can close the distance between                                        upgrade, Koonwarra                                                         centre-line widening                  33 Omeo Highway, Bogong High
                                           tourism attractions in Gippsland,                                                                                                                                                                Plains Road to Anglers Rest,
                                                                                                                     4 $50m on Princes Highway,                                                20 Princes Highway East, Longwarry
 “We get 10 million visitors a year        getting people from Phillip Island                                                                                                                                                               improvements for motorcyclists
                                                                                                                        Bairnsdale to New South Wales                                              to Traralgon, barriers both sides
predominantly by car or bus and so         Nature Park to Mt Baw Baw and the                                            border
                                           Gippsland Lakes, people won’t look at                                                                                                               21 Princes Highway East, Traralgon        Bridge strengthening and
the road network is absolutely crucial…
                                                                                                                     5 $10.6m on two overtaking lanes                                              to Sale                               replacement
Something as simple as the signage         Gippsland as a one-day destination.”
                                                                                                                        at Thurra and Bellbird on Princes                                      22 South Gippsland Highway,
and identifying key destinations, not      - Mary Aldred, CEO of the                                                    Highway                                                                                                          34 $8.6m on Tyers Road, Latrobe
                                                                                                                                                                                                   Leongatha to Meeniyan, centre-            River bridge replacement
just the next town, would allow visitors   Committee for Gippsland                                                   6 $10m on Monaro Highway                                                      line barriers
that aren’t familiar with the region to                                                                                                                                                                                                  35 Princes Highway East, Little Moe
make a more informed journey and                                                                                     7 $10m on Hyland Highway                                                  23 Bass Highway, Lang Lang to San             River, Darnum
                                           “The coast road between Cape                                                                                                                            Remo
feel comfortable about where they’re                                                                                 8 $7m Phillip Island Road,                                                                                          36 Princes Highway East, Morwell
                                           Patterson and Inverloch is a major
heading.”                                                                                                               roundabout                                                             24 Shared bike path between Morwell           River floodplain, Hernes Oak
                                           tourist route and cycling route too....                                                                                                                 and Traralgon
– Terry Robinson, Chief Executive          This desperately needs a shoulder                                         $46m road maintenance and repair,                                                                                   37 Princes Highway East, Loy Yang-
Officer Destination Gippsland              and/or bike lane.”                                                        including:                                                                Freight upgrades                              Morwell Road, Morwell
                                           - D.t. poynton - online comment                                           9 Tyers-Thompson Valley Road                                              25 Princes Highway East, Lloyd Street     Planning underway
“I’d love to see overtaking lanes on                                                                                 10 Korumburra-Wonthaggi Road                                                  off-ramp
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         38 Princes Highway East
Maffra-Sale Road! The amount of            “What’s most important for Gippsland’s                                    11 Princes Highway East                                                   26 Princes Highway East/Bank Street,          - Traralgon Bypass
idiots who can’t drive at the speed        roads is connectivity to support                                                                                                                        traffic signals
                                                                                                                     12 Stratford-Maffra Road                                                                                            39 Warragul and Drouin network
limit is infuriating!”                     tourism, which is our economic future.                                                                                                              27 Princes Highway East, roundabout
                                                                                                                     13 Meeniyan-Promontory Road                                                                                             improvements
- Alannah Wallace, Facebook                So the network linkages that enable                                                                                                                     improvement
                                                                                                                     14 Great Alpine Road                                                                                                40 Bass Highway - Anderson to
                                           that to happen is going to be really                                                                                                                28 Princes Highway East, truck rest           Leongatha (corridor planning)
                                           critical to connect the Bass Coast area,                                  15 Bruthen-Nowa Nowa Road                                                     area signage
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         41 Princes Highway east - Sale
                                           down through South Gippsland and                                          16 Hyland Highway, Traralgon                                              29 Bass Highway/Korumburra-                   alternative truck route
                                           then out into the East.”                                                                                                                                Wonthaggi Road, intersection
                                                                                                                                                                                                   signals                               42 Princes Highway East network
                                           – comment at Morwell forum.                                                                                                                                                                       improvements (Bairnsdale)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         43 South Gippsland Highway,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Korumburra

                                                                                                                     *Joint Federal and State funding, in
10 / VICROADS COUNTRY ROADS                                                                                          conjunction with Bass Coast Shire Council                                                                                    Connecting our communities / 11
Country Roads Your insights, our actions - Connecting our communities - VicRoads
What you told us
region by region
Hume - Goulburn and Ovens Murray                                                                                                            12

                                                                                                                                                                                  11
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 29
                                                                                                                                                      22                                     3             33    20
                                                                                                                                                                                                           28
                                                                                                                                                                             18
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      5
                                                                                                                                                                                                                27
                                                                                                                                                                                                 16
                                                                                                                                                      2                 31

Benalla, Beechworth, Bright,                                                                                                           23        17                          21

                                                                                                                                                                                       19

Corryong, Eildon, Euroa, Seymour,
                                                                                                                                                                                                            8
                                                                                                                                                                                                      15         1
                                                                                                                                                          13            28 24

Shepparton, Mansfield, Wangaratta,                                                                                          32                                     28

Wodonga and Yarrawonga.                                                                                                                      4
                                                                                                                                                                                                 30

                                                                                                                                                                                            14

                                                                                                                                                                   26
                                                                                                                                                              25
“Help people find their way! Get the
interface working between VicRoads/
                                           “There have been 13 landslips on
                                           Bogong High Plains Road... a lot more
                                                                                     “I think the roads here                                 10
                                                                                                                                                          6

Council/Parks.”                            seepage and subsidence than the           are more than just a                                    9
- Shepparton stakeholder forum             Great Ocean Road.”                        conduit to get you
                                           - Alpine Shire Council
                                                                                     from A to B... they
                                                                                                                                                                    7
“Recognise the potential to work with
councils after weather events to fix up    “Northern Highway, Pyalong is             are really part of our                      Melbourne
the roads because we can end up with       receiving an ever increasing amount
a patchwork quilt.”                        of traffic, even more so during holiday   tourism assets.”
- Wodonga stakeholder forum                periods. Many drivers are frustrated
                                                                                     – Michelle Armstrong,
                                           with the lack of ability to pass slow
                                                                                     Bright stakeholder forum
“There is growing number of people         moving vehicles and are endangering
with caravans and people movers that       themselves and others..... More passing
need to be better catered for – we had     lanes...”
a 20% increase this Easter.”
- Mansfield stakeholder meeting            - Charleen – online forum
                                                                                                                What we’re doing now
“It’s far quicker to get from Shepparton   “I think the roads here are more than
to Ballarat by going to Melbourne and      just a conduit to get you from A to B.                               Major upgrades                                                    11 Katamite-Yarrawonga Road,            25 Goulburn Valley Highway,
out again. The Midland Highway route       The roads here are really part of our                                1 $18m Great Alpine Road                                             Yarrawonga                              Yea to Cathkin
from Shepparton to Ballarat is not         tourism assets that link you, with most                                                                                                12 Murray Valley Highway, Kotupna,      26 Goulburn Valley Highway,
                                                                                                                2 $10m Shepparton Bypass,
good.”                                     people coming up here want                                              planning and pre-construction                                     Ebden and Cobram East                   Molesworth to Cathkin, centre-line
                                           to experience the natural assets                                        and intersection upgrades to the                               13 Murchison - Violet Town Road,           safety barriers
- Ballarat stakeholder meeting             that we have...”                                                        Ford Road, Wanganui Road and                                      Miepoll                              27 Beechworth-Wodonga Road,
“It’s really important to look at how                                                                              Goulburn Valley Highway                                        14 Mount Buller Road, Mansfield            Beechworth to Yackandandah
                                           - Michelle Armstrong -                                               3 $20m Shepparton alternative                                     15 Wangaratta-Whitfield Road, Moyhu     28 Hume Freeway rest areas, Bentons
bikes can be accommodated because
if you come up here as a visitor and       Wangaratta resident                                                     route roundabouts                                              16 Wangaratta Road, Bowser                 Hill, Reef Hills and Balmattum
you want to cycle outside of town, you     and cyclist enthusiast                                                                                                                    and Wangaratta. Wahgunyah-           29 Shelley-Walwa Road, repair
                                                                                                                $42m road maintenance and repair
also want to come into town and visit                                                                                                                                                Wangaratta Road                      30 Mansfield-Whitfield Road, Mansfield
                                           Melbourne is Victoria’s capital – not                                4 Hume Freeway, Wallan and Euroa
the cafes and enjoy all the other wine                                                                                                                                            17 Tatura-Undera Road, Gillieston          to Whitfield, improvements for
                                           just inner Melbourne – country people                                5 $8m Kiewa Valley Highway                                                                                   motorcyclists
and food experiences, but you want to                                                                                                                                                and Undera
                                           need access to Melbourne too.”                                          improvements from Wodonga
do it on your bike and you want to do                                                                              to Mt Beauty* plus repairs to                                  18 Benalla-Tocumwal Road, Katamite      Bridge strengthening
it safely.”                                - Bruce Robertson, Wangaratta                                                                                                          19 Benalla-Yarrawonga Road, Benalla
                                                                                                                   Kiewa East Road, Huon and                                                                              31 Dookie-Nalinga Road
                                           community session                                                       Tangambalanga                                                  20 Hume Link Highway, Wodonga
- Michelle Armstrong,
Bright stakeholder forum                                                                                        6 Goulburn Valley Highway, Yea                                    21 Midland Highway, Stewarton and       Planning underway
                                                                                                                7 Melba Highway, Castella                                            Benalla                              32 Northern Highway Upgrade Stage 1
                                                                                                                8 Glenrowan-Myrtleford Road,                                      22 Goulburn Valley Highway, Cobram,     33 A preferred project route for the
                                                                                                                   Whorouly                                                          Yarrowe and Shepparton                   $4 million Rutherglen alternative
                                                                                                                                                                                                                              truck route is now being identified
                                                                                                                9 Whittlesea-Yea Road, Kinglake                                   Safety upgrades                             with construction expected to start
                                                                                                                   West and Flowerdale                                            23 Midland Highway, Shepparton to           in late 2018.*
                                                                                                                10 Broadford - Flowerdale Road,                                       Stanhope
                                                                                                                   Strath Creek                                                   24 Hume Freeway, M80 Ring Road to
                                                                                                                                                                                      Albury/Wodonga

                                                                                                                *Joint Federal and State funding
12 / VICROADS COUNTRY ROADS                                                                                                                                                                                                       Connecting our communities / 13
Country Roads Your insights, our actions - Connecting our communities - VicRoads
23

What you told us
region by region
Loddon Mallee

                                                                                                                                                                         30

Bendigo, Castlemaine, Echuca,
Gisborne, Kerang, Kyneton,                                                                                                                            14

Maryborough, Mildura, Swan Hill,                                                                                                                                        4                     13

Wedderburn, Wycheproof, Sea Lake,                                                                                                                                                                  31

Manangatang and Patchewollock.                                                                                                                                                                               22 1

                                                                                                                                                                                                              9
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   30
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      15 6

                                                                                                                                                                                                                           19
                                                                                                                                                                                                             17
                                                                                                                                                            26
                                                                                                                                                                              5
 “Our rail is far from reliable here and
we have no air service currently, so
                                             “If a pothole of bump occurs on the
                                            line of a road where cyclists normally
                                                                                        “ As the border to the                              24

the road to Melbourne means a lot           ride, which is usually within a metre of    desert we have a lot                                                                            36 37 12
                                                                                                                                                                                           30
                                                                                                                                                                                                   7         34
to everybody in town. With driverless
                                                                                        of opportunity for
                                                                                                                                                                                   10
                                            the road edge, or in a bike lane, then it                                                                                                     2
                                                                                                                                                                                                             33
cars, we’ll need to make sure that our      is not safe and it needs to be fixed and                                                                                                      8

roads keep up with the technology so        it doesn’t matter whether it fits within    tourism and we just                                                                       21
                                                                                                                                                                                                        16   32       11

we can get to destinations sooner and
safer.”
                                            your maintenance standards or not.”         need to make it easier                                                                                         25
                                                                                                                                                                                                              30

- Matthew, local business
                                            - Margaret Douglas, Bike Safe
                                            Macedon Ranges
                                                                                        for people to travel                                                                                            29
                                                                                                                                                                                                           27   18
                                                                                                                                                                                                            30 20
                                                                                        here and enjoy it. So
                                                                                                                                                                                                         28
director in Swan Hill
                                                                                                                                                                                                             35

 “It’d be great to get a ring road around
                                            “Our group is especially pleased ...        more rest stops with                                                                                                          Melbourne
                                            there will be a greater emphasis on                                                                                                                                   3
Bendigo to reduce congestion and get        pavement rehabilitation rather than         toilets and facilities to
trucks out of Bendigo, which would be
better and safer all round.”
                                            just patching of pot-holes.”                make it easy.”
                                            - Cr Kevin Erwin, Chair of the
- Brendan Maher, from Maher’s               Wimmera Southern Mallee Regional
                                                                                        – Ken Wakefield - Mildura
                                                                                        stakeholder forum
                                                                                                                    What we’re doing now
Transport in Bendigo                        Transport Group
                                                                                                                    Major upgrades                               15 Echuca-Mooroopna Road, Wyuna                                28 Mt Macedon-Hanging Rock Road,
“It’s really important in our community     “There’s an issue with the crossroad                                    1 $280m Echuca-Moama Bridge                                                                                    Mt Macedon Road to Lancefield-
                                                                                                                                                                 16 Heathcote- Kyneton Road,
just to have roads that help lift the       in Manangatang and also the Sea                                            Project                                                                                                     Woodend Road, improvements for
                                                                                                                                                                    Edgecombe and Redesdale
presentation of our many towns,             Lake-Robinvale Road. For many                                                                                                                                                          motorcyclists
                                                                                                                    2 $86m Ravenswood Interchange                17 Prairie-Rochester Road,
particularly from a tourism point of        years we’ve been trying to get some                                        Project                                                                                                  29 Mt Macedon Road, Macedon-
                                                                                                                                                                    Ballendella
view, as well as the local amenity. That    upgrading done. The road is very                                                                                                                                                       Woodend Road to Mt Macedon-
                                                                                                                    3 $42m Calder Highway, M80 Ring              18 Kilmore-Lancefield Road,                                       Hanging Rock Road, improvements
really makes people feel like they’re       dangerous, especially with the amount
                                                                                                                       Road to Bendigo                              Lancemore Hill                                                 for motorcyclists
thought about and cared for.”               of B-double trucks that are now using
                                            the road.”                                                              4 $23m Regional Roads upgrade                19 Lancaster-Moroopna Road,                                    30 Delivery of $6.6m of Australian
- Darren Fuzzard, CEO                                                                                               5 Calder Highway intersection                   Lancaster                                                      Blackspot funding in Greater
of Mt Alexander Shire                       - Greg Plant, Manangatang                                                  upgrades, overtaking and centre-                                                                            Bendigo, Swan Hill, Campaspe,
                                            Victorian Farmers’ Federation                                              line widening trial                       Safety upgrades                                                   Mitchell and Macedon Ranges
“97% of people come to our region                                                                                   6 Murray Valley Highway                      20 Melbourne-Lancefield Road,
by road, so our roads are incredibly        “The main issues that we’ve had in our                                     intersection upgrades                         overtaking lanes, flexible safety                          Bridge strengthening
important for tourism and economic          area regard the typical Wimmera Wave,                                                                                    barriers, widening and intersection                        31 Murray Valley Highway, Patho
                                                                                                                    7 Strathfieldsaye Road/Tanner Lane               upgrades
growth. I hadn’t really thought about       the way the road changes with the
                                                                                                                       traffic signals                                                                                          Planning underway
safety barriers and flexible white posts    moisture and creates a real undulating                                                                               21 Pyrenees Highway
                                            surface…it makes it hard travelling with                                8 Jock Comini truck rest area                                                                               32 Kilmore Wallan Bypass - Stage 1
and lots of things that VicRoads have                                                                                                                            22 Murray Valley Highway/Warren
introduced to improve safety. They          trucks and cars along the road - you                                    9 Northern Hwy, Rochester to                     Street, roundabout                                         33 Hume Freeway/Wallan Whittlesea Rd
                                            tend to bounce all over the shop. So                                       Echuca, overtaking lanes
haven’t communicated very well, so                                                                                                                               23 Mildura CBD, pedestrian safety and                          34 Station/Saunders Road intersection
people don’t necessarily know what          it’s a pretty tough fix, but something                                  10 Lockwood Crossing roundabout                  roundabout improvements                                        upgrade
those rope barriers are for.”               for the VicRoads guys to think about.”                                  11 Seymour-Tooborac roundabout               24 Wimmera Highway, intersection                               35 Calder Park Drive, Calder Freeway
- Win Scott, Chair of Mallee                - Luke Batters, resident of Guroke in                                   12 Napier Street, Bendigo duplication            improvements                                               36 Marong Road Calder Highway
Regional Partnership                        St Arnaud district                                                         works                                     25 Heathcote-Kyneton Road/Ennis                                    Improvements
                                                                                                                                                                     Road, intersection improvements                            37 Barry Street/Main Road intersection
                                                                                                                    $57m road maintenance and repair,
                                                                                                                    including:                                   26 Sunraysia Highway, intersection                                 upgrade, Bendigo
                                                                                                                    13 Murray Valley Highway, Echuca                 improvements
                                                                                                                        and Kerang                               27 Lancefield-Woodend Road,
                                                                                                                    14 Sunraysia Highway, Birchip                    Lancefield to Woodend,
                                                                                                                                                                     improvements for motorcyclists

14 / VICROADS COUNTRY ROADS                                                                                                                                                                                                            Connecting our communities / 15
Country Roads Your insights, our actions - Connecting our communities - VicRoads
Rebuilding
country roads

The lives and livelihoods of people in country Victoria
have changed considerably since the rural road network
was first laid down 70 years ago.

We’re travelling longer distances to       Shipping containers of Victorian hay        A major rebuild of the regional
work in a growing services economy,        are now feeding Japan’s cows to             road network is underway.
where regional tourism employs nearly      quadruple milk production, while the
                                                                                       The important groundwork to rebuild         Some of the consistent
as many people as agriculture              almond produce from Mildura is eaten
– one in six.                              in one festive day of the year in India.
                                                                                       the country transport network for           feedback we’ve heard is
                                           Vegetables are now being grown under
                                                                                       a new era of regional prosperity            around four key themes:
The numbers of people prepared to                                                      is underway.
                                           glasshouses in Gippsland and the
commute long distances to enjoy the
                                           Loddon Mallee that are 40 hectares          The condition and maintenance of
lifestyle benefits of regional Victoria
                                           in size.                                    country roads was raised by many
is growing by the day, with the 2016
                                                                                       people throughout our engagement.
census showing a record 76,210             The increase in visitation to regional                                                  Road safety
                                                                                       Participants shared a need for VicRoads
Melburnians moved to regional Victoria     Victoria is also impressive. Seeing
in the last five years, making it one of   tourists at Lake Tyrell taking pre-
                                                                                       to “go beyond the reactive approach         How do we save lives and
the nation’s fastest growing regions.      wedding Instagram shots, and
                                                                                       and ‘band-aid’ solutions, such as           reduce trauma?
                                                                                       patching or reducing speeds, to fix and
                                           recreational vehicles parked outside the
The lure of rural lifestyles and more                                                  maintain the country roads’’. The quality
                                           world’s tallest canvasses on the Silo Art
affordable housing in towns with good                                                  of road repairs was also raised and
                                           Trail helped us appreciate the potential
road and rail links to Melbourne is                                                    needs to be addressed.
                                           to support the growing international                                                    Freight
seeing significant population growth in
major regional towns in an arc around
                                           and domestic tourism market.                The Victorian Budget 2017/18                How can we make the network
Melbourne. Ballarat, Bendigo, Latrobe      This is all taking place on top of an
                                                                                       allocates $556 million to double road       fit for purpose?
                                                                                       maintenance investment, upgrade
Valley and Wodonga are all planning        aging road base and at a pace that will
                                                                                       more bridges and construct new
for future populations of 200,000 or       see the population outside Melbourne
                                                                                       bypasses.
more and Geelong is already there.         double to two million people within
The changing face of farming and
                                           20 years.                                   There is also $49 million for upgrades      Enhancing regional Victoria
                                                                                       to 23 major country roads including         as a tourist destination, and
the scale of agriculture is staggering.    Significant investment is underway
                                                                                       the Calder, Bass, Sunraysia and Princes
Trucks have grown in size and number,      to support regional growth including
                                                                                       Highways, and $40 million for upgrades
                                                                                                                                   a great place to live and work
carrying goods for international           major highway duplications, the Murray                                                  and do business.
                                                                                       to 17 bridges.
markets on roads that were never           Basin Rail project and passenger rail
designed to carry them – like the Port     investments and safety treatments that      More than 850 kilometres of
of Portland, which now has thousands       will make it almost impossible to run       deteriorating roads in regional Victoria
of B-doubles a day carrying exports to     off the road or hit another car head on     will benefit from a $260 million
the busiest timber port in the world.      across all major interstate highways. But   maintenance boost for repair and            Road maintenance
                                           more can and will be done.                  resurfacing this year alone.                How do we best invest in the
                                                                                       Significant future investment is also       19,000 kilometres of country
                                                                                       planned with $25 million to develop         arterials to make the whole
                                                                                       business cases for regional and rural       network be better, safer and
                                                                                       projects.                                   more productive?
                                                                                       However, it’s not only more investment
                                                                                       that’s needed. We need to better
                                                                                       respond to what is happening in
                                                                                       regional communities and industries
                                                                                       and align our efforts.

16 / VICROADS COUNTRY ROADS                                                                                                                                         Connecting our communities / 17
Road Safety
How do we save lives and reduce trauma?

Towards Zero involves the biggest effort ever to
make country roads safer and close the gap between
the number of people being killed on country roads
compared with city roads.

The deaths and trauma happening on          There were also calls for more sealing    What we are doing now                        What we will do next                        —— Lower the risk to riders with
country roads is unacceptable. People       of shoulders for safety, especially for   The Victorian Government’s road safety       We’re about to trial an innovative             a $2 million enhanced maintenance
in country Victoria are four times more     cyclists and separation from trucks. A    strategy, Towards Zero, involves the         approach from New Zealand that has             program to identify and fix small
likely to die or be seriously injured on    lot of people questioned why we’re        biggest effort ever to close the gap         dramatically reduced fatal collisions          potholes and bumps that could be
country roads than on metropolitan          investing in road safety barriers – and   between the number of people dying           at merges between high speed rural             a hazard and remove loose material
roads.                                      we need to do a much better job of        on country roads compared with city          highways and low volume country                on bends at some 200 recognised
                                            explaining how these treatments work      roads. More than $800 million is being       roads. Electronic speed zones that             motorcycle touring routes
Some of the consistent feedback
                                            to save lives.                            invested in making regional roads more       trigger slower speeds for merging traffic   —— Support communities who want
we’ve heard is the need for more safe
overtaking opportunities on highways.       Because they really do. In Seymour,       forgiving, including extensive safety        will be trialled and evaluated at three        to develop their own road safety
                                            one of the first areas along the Hume     barriers and rumble strips that have         locations in north-eastern Victoria.           initiatives starting in Omeo,
Pedestrian and cycling safety was
                                                                                      been shown to save lives.                                                                   Stratford, Mildura, Shepparton and
raised in many places, with the north-      Highway to have safety barriers                                                        We’re also going to make it much more          tourist destinations where there
east and Loddon Campaspe regions            installed, State Emergency Service        From every major regional road into          obvious to everyone on the roads how           are high numbers of international
having significant concerns with cyclists   workers have already seen road            Melbourne, 1,700 kilometres of wire-         safe they are through the introduction         drivers
mixing with traffic on fast moving single   accident callouts more than halved        rope safety barriers are being installed     of a star-based safety assessment. A
lane highways.                              from 45-50 a year to 20. “The same                                                                                                 —— Support local behaviour change
                                                                                      to make it almost impossible to have         Star Rating System will be developed to
                                            amount of accidents are still occurring                                                                                               campaigns to make people more
Some communities have unique                                                          a head-on crash or to run off the road       demonstrate the safety benefits of new
                                            but due to the barriers they’re not as                                                                                                aware of the potential dangers on
challenges in reducing the road                                                       and hit a tree. The most dangerous           treatments and encourage driving to
                                            severe and people are more likely to                                                                                                  their local roads
trauma. Mildura and Shepparton have                                                   duplicated highways will have safety         local conditions.
                                            walk away from a crash these days,”       barriers on the left and right hand sides,                                               —— Reduce rough roads as part of
high numbers of overseas workers                                                                                                   We will also :
                                            explained Seymour SES unit controller     while single lane highways will have                                                        a major uplift in regional road
who have limited experience of our                                                                                                 —— Tackle the most dangerous                   maintenance
                                            Christine Walsh to the Seymour            more safe overtaking opportunities,
road conditions, while communities                                                                                                    intersections right across Victoria
                                            Telegraph.                                centre-line barriers and other safety                                                    —— Construct a new truck stop and rest
along the Great Ocean Road and                                                                                                        from removing sharp bends, to
other international tourist destinations                                              treatments such as wide centre-lines.                                                       area in Moe to tackle fatigue-related
                                                                                                                                      installing raised platforms to prevent
want much greater effort to educate                                                                                                                                               crashes on the Princes Highway.
                                                                                      A lot of work is underway to make the           speeding through traffic lights
international drivers on keeping to the                                               roads more forgiving for motorcyclists       —— Make intersections safer for cyclists
left side of the road.                                                                along 11 high risk regional routes with         and pedestrians including new
                                                                                      new rub-rail protective barriers, sealing       shared paths in Geelong, Geelong
                                                                                      of bell-mouths (where gravel roads              West, Warrnambool, Mildura,
                                                                                      connect with the main road) and better          Ballarat, Morwell and Traralgon, and
                                                                                      surfaces on approaches to corners.              installing a new pedestrian crossing
                                                                                                                                      and the first traffic lights
                                                                                      By more than doubling road
                                                                                                                                      in Wonthaggi
                                                                                      maintenance across regional Victoria
                                                                                      this year, many sections of rough road
                                                                                      will be rebuilt, including the Tyers-
                                                                                      Thomson Valley Road in Gippsland, the
                                                                                      Murray Valley Highway in Kotupna and
                                                                                      sections of the Sunraysia, Glenelg and
                                                                                      Wimmera highways.

18 / VICROADS COUNTRY ROADS                                                                                                                                                                                               Connecting our communities / 19
Seeing is believing                                                                                               More bike
with safety                                                                                                       friendly towns
barriers

                                                                                                                                                                                                   “Road-cycling is an
                                                                                                                                                                                                   increasingly popular
                                                                                                                                                                                                   activity, but with that
                                                                                                                                                                                                   comes some of the safety
                                                                                                                                                                                                   issues and it’s absolutely
                                                                                                                                                                                                   paramount to keep the
                                                                                                                                                                                                   roads well maintained. It’s
                                                                                                                                                                                                   a tourism product as well
                                                                                                                                                                                                   as an economic product
                                                                                                                                                                                                   and a transport product.”

Truck driver Brian            “I’d always smile to myself and
                              wonder why VicRoads didn’t spend
                                                                         “The steel rope got caught on the
                                                                         bumper and did a fair bit of damage      The growth in cycling                     That’s exactly what’s happening
                                                                                                                                                            with major bike and pedestrian
                                                                                                                                                                                                    stones from the side of roads along
                                                                                                                                                                                                    popular routes, like Black Forest Drive
Somers has never              the money on something else as             to the truck but if it hadn’t been       is everywhere: from                       path upgrades in regional cities.       in Macedon and the Cape Paterson to
had a high opinion of         there was no way one of those would
                              stop a big truck like mine,” Brian said.
                                                                         there, I would have headed straight
                                                                         into oncoming traffic. And if I hadn’t
                                                                                                                  the “local lycra” in                      $15.5 million has been dedicated to
                                                                                                                                                            improve the cycling and pedestrian
                                                                                                                                                                                                    Inverloch tourist drive, were raised.

wirerope safety barriers                                                 hit someone head on, it would have       Halls Gap, the major                      connections in the CBDs of Geelong,
                                                                                                                                                                                                    Michelle Armstrong, a passionate
                              But he has changed his view, as                                                                                                                                       cyclist who moved from Sydney to
being installed on the        have his colleagues at Tanner Ridge
                                                                         gone straight through a fence and into
                                                                                                                  cycling tourism                           Warrnambool and Ballarat. A 11
                                                                                                                                                                                                    Wangaratta for the mountains and
                                                                         houses on the other side of the road.                                              kilometre bike path is now under
sides and centre of           Transport.
                                                                                                                  around in the north-                      construction to connect Latrobe
                                                                                                                                                                                                    lifestyle opportunities in the north-east

highways.                     Late one afternoon in May, travelling      “I hate to think what                    east and families                         Valley’s two largest cities, Morwell
                                                                                                                                                                                                    explained at our Bright session that
                                                                                                                                                                                                    roads were much more than a conduit
                              along the South Gippsland Highway
                              towards Grantville in his empty
                                                                         could have happened.                     wanting to ride
                                                                                                                                                            and Traralgon with an 11 kilometre
                                                                                                                                                            shared path.
                                                                                                                                                                                                    to get from A to B. “The roads here
                              Kenworth semi, Brian’s front right         The barrier definitely                   safely around and                         VicRoads’ maintenance crews will be
                                                                                                                                                                                                    really are part of our tourism assets,”
                                                                                                                                                                                                    she said.
                              steer tyre blew. The 15-tonne truck
                              slammed into the wire rope safety
                                                                         saved lives that day.”                   between towns.                            much more mindful of the impacts
                                                                                                                                                                                                    As well as attracting serious mountain
                                                                                                                                                            of road conditions for cyclists
                              barrier in the centre of the road and                                               While historically the road network                                               riders, Michelle said many people
                                                                                                                                                            and motorbike riders, sweeping
                              slid along for 100 metres.                                                          wasn’t designed for cyclists and trucks                                           wanted to be able to ride in to towns
                                                                                                                                                            approaches to curves to make roads
                                                                                                                  to share narrow sealed roads, many                                                and visit cafes and experience the
                              When the truck finally stopped, Brian,                                                                                        more bike-friendly. A $2.2 million
                                                                                                                  people raised the need to plan ahead                                              region’s food and wine. “You want to
                              who has been driving trucks for 20                                                                                            enhanced maintenance package
                                                                                                                  for shared paths and safer shoulders in                                           do it on your bike and you want to
                              years, couldn’t believe it. The barrier                                                                                       funded from the Motorcycle Levy will
                                                                                                                  future road upgrades.                                                             do it safely, so it’s important that the
                              had worked.                                                                                                                   make the most popular motorcycle
                                                                                                                                                                                                    towns have those reassurances to
                                                                                                                                                            routes safer. The need to sweep
                                                                                                                                                                                                    people - that yes, we’re bike friendly.

20 / VICROADS COUNTRY ROADS                                                                                                                                                                                 Connecting our communities / 21
Reducing
collisions at
high speed
intersections

In the first trial of its kind in Victoria,
three high-speed intersections
in north-east Victoria will have
electronic speed signs installed.

For every 100 km stretch of high              Under the pilot, speeds will be
speed, high volume road in Victoria,          electronically lowered on the Murray
17 people are killed or seriously             Valley and Goulburn Valley Highways
injured every year. One of the danger         in Wahring, Barnawartha and Yalca
points is where high speed rural              when activated by a vehicle 300
highways intersect with narrow                metres away on the low volume
and low volume roads that are                 side roads. The speed limit on the
also high speed.                              main highway will drop to 80km/h
                                              in 110km/h zones, and to 70km/h
In the first trial of its kind in Victoria,
                                              in a 100km/h zone.
three high-speed intersections
in north-east Victoria will have              The trial will be monitored and
electronic speed signs installed to           evaluated after three months with
raise awareness of approaching traffic        the intention of introducing to
on side-roads.                                other locations if successful.
By triggering a slower speed on the
highway only when an oncoming
vehicle from the side road is
approaching, safer merges should
reduce the risk of fatal collisions. A
long-term study of the New Zealand
system showed an 89% reduction in
fatal and serious injuries – a result we
aim to replicate here.

22 / VICROADS COUNTRY ROADS                                                          Connecting our communities / 23
Freight access                                                                                                                     Regional freight route upgrades
How can we make the network fit for purpose?
                                                                                                                                   Regional freight route upgrades
                                                                                                                                   1   Bass Highway/Korumburra-Wonthaggi Rd intersection signals                                                             9     Gisborne Rd/Western Freeway intersection upgrade

                                                                                                                                   2   Shelley-Walwa Rd pavement sealing                                                                                 10        Princes Highway East/Bank St traffic signals

                                                                                                                                   3   Western Freeway/Ballarat-Maryborough Rd intersection upgrade                                                      11        Barwon Heads roundabout
Victoria is growing faster than any
                                                                                                                                   4                                                                                                                     12
other state and it’s not confined to                                                                                                   Hume Freeway rest areas - Bentons Hill, Reef Hills and Balmattum                                                            Fyansford-Gheringhap Rd shoulder and barrier

the boundaries of Melbourne.                                                                                                       5   Princes Highway East - LLoyd St off-ramp                                                                          13        Lower Duneed Rd shoulder, drainage and barrier

                                                                                                                                   6   Princes Highway East truck rest area signage                                                                      14        Cape Otway shoulder and barrier

                                                                                                                                   7   Princes Highway East roundabout improvement                                                                       15        Wimmera Highway intersection improvements

Victoria’s road network was never            The challenge of maintaining the          A Grain Harvest Management Scheme           8   Calder Highway wide centreline trial                                                                              16        Heathcote-Kyneton Rd/Ennis Rd intersection improvements
designed for the uses it performs            condition of the aging country road       is being trialled in Victoria in time for
today. Most of Victoria’s rural road         network has grown over the last 20        this year’s harvest, after farmers and                                                                                                                            17        Sunraysia Highway intersection improvements
network was built more than 70 years         years, with increases in the volume of    grain operators raised the difficulty
ago – beyond the average lifespan of         traffic and the size of vehicles using    of accurately weighing grain loads
a road – out of low-cost local               roads, changing land use and growing      during last year bumper harvest.
materials that is prone to wear from         communities.                              A five percent loading concession
unplanned truck use.                                                                   will be allowed this harvest to boost                             Mildura
                                             One B-double truck has the same
                                                                                       productivity for an important part
Building a more resilient and reliable       impacts on a road surface as 10,000
                                                                                       of the economy.
country road network is fundamental          cars, so freight routes need to be
to Victoria’s future growth and              strong enough to support the heavy-       The Australian and Victorian
prosperity. Whether it’s getting in to a     lifting of the state’s productivity.      Governments are investing in projects                               8
critical port, terminal or road, there are                                             to connect the Port of Melbourne to
                                             Before 1980, the largest vehicle on our
a lot of first and last mile challenges                                                major freight hubs and businesses.
                                             roads were single semi-trailers which
in freight transport logistics that we                                                 Rail’s ability to shift larger volumes of
                                             could carry up to 40 tonnes. Today the                                                                                                   Swan Hill

learnt firsthand.                                                                      freight than trucks is being strongly
                                             most common truck on our roads is
                                                                                       supported with an $8.4 billion
We spent time at the Dooen                   the B-double which has the capacity
                                                                                       investment in the Inland Rail project
Intermodal Terminal, GrainCorp’s             to legally carry 68.5. The introduction
                                                                                       connecting Brisbane and Melbourne.
facilities in Warracknabeal, the Logic       of heavier trucks has been the single
Centre in Wodonga, and toured the            greatest development to the freight       What we will do next                                                                                                            Echuca
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Wodonga
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             2
Port of Portland which is the world’s        industry and helps drive our healthy      —— Work closely with Transport for                                                                                                                   Shepparton           Wangaratta
busiest forestry exporter. We also met       economy, but it has also accelerated         Victoria on the development
with freight operators and drivers           the deterioration of our roads.              of a regional freight strategy                                                         17
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     4
in every region, including at the                                                         and a regional roads strategy to                                                                               15
                                             With freight volumes forecast to grow                                                                     Horsham                                                   Bendigo

East Gippsland Livestock Exchange,                                                        investigate alternative freight routes
                                             at a rate of 1.5% a year, Victoria is
Shepparton, Korumburra, Ballarat and                                                      and inter-modal opportunities
                                             looking for new and more efficient                                                                                                                                  16
Bendigo.                                                                               —— Change the way we assess road
                                             ways to move goods to market,
A common theme we heard is the               through projects like the Murray Basin       projects by including the wider
changing use of narrow roads, and the        Rail Project and bridge strengthening        economic value of roads when                                                                            3   Ballarat

challenges of freight trucks, oversized      throughout the state.                        planning road upgrades                                                                                                  9
                                                                                                                                                        Hamilton
farming machinery, tourists and                                                        —— Introduce a rest area system so                                                                                                       Melbourne                                                                Bairnsdale

cyclists all sharing the same roads.         What we are doing now                        long-haul freight drivers can plan                                                                                                                                                                       6
                                             The Victorian Budget 2017/18 includes        their rest stops ahead                                                                                             12Geelong
The need for alternative routes and                                                                                                                                                                                                                      5                          7       Sale
                                             a significant upgrade to key freight                                                                                                                              11                                                        10 Traralgon
bypasses for freight was raised in                                                     —— Assess the capacity limits on every
                                             routes on roads and bridges including                                                                                                        14                13
many places, including Traralgon,                                                         highway from Melbourne to our                     Portland

                                             upgrades around the Port of Portland                                                                                  Warrnambool

Mildura, Bendigo and Shepparton.                                                          state borders to prioritise upgrades                                                                                                                 1
                                             and the Henty Highway in the Green
People understand the importance                                                          in partnership with industry.
                                             Triangle, $10.2 million to plan and
of good freight connections, but also        undertake preconstruction works
want to improve the liveability and          for the first stage of the Shepparton
attractiveness of their towns.               Bypass and $41 million for bridge
                                             strengthening projects.

24 / VICROADS COUNTRY ROADS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Connecting our communities / 25
Enhancing regional Victoria

We want to be the number one
state to live, work and visit.

Victoria is growing faster than any         Another takeaway was the optimism           The Victorian Budget 2017/18 includes
other state and it’s not confined to        around tourism and innovation. Instead      significant tourism investments across
the boundaries of Melbourne. The            of looking at roads or bridges in           the state including the development
population outside Melbourne is set         isolation, we are better understanding      of a destination management plan
to double to two million people in the      regional priorities to unlock jobs and      for Gippsland, delivery of the next
next 20 years. Victoria’s regional labour   local solutions. The opportunities to       stage Riverfront Development in
market is one of the strongest in the       better connect all parts of Gippsland       Swan Hill, cycling infrastructure in
nation with regional employment             to the self-driving tourism market          the Ovens Murray region and tourism
growing by 2.1% in 2016.                    from Sydney to Melbourne was one            infrastructure upgrades along the
                                            important example.                          Great South Coast.
Greater Geelong, Ballarat and Greater
Bendigo between them are expected           Roads clearly underpin the tourism          What we will do next
to account for half of Victoria’s           economy, with the Great Ocean Road          —— Work closely with Transport for
regional growth to 2031. Smaller            Victoria’s number one tourist attraction       Victoria on improvements to the
towns like Drouin and Wallan are            drawing seven million visitors a year.         country road network, including
also growing, with the opening of           Phillip Island, the Great Alpine Road,         better inter-regional links.
new housing allotments having a big         central Victoria and the Grampians          —— Partner with Visit Victoria to
impact on townships designed more           are among other significant iconic             develop tourism drives to attract
than a century ago for much smaller         tourist routes with growing numbers            international and domestic tourists
populations.                                of international and domestic tourists.        to stay longer in our regions
Regions along some of the nation’s          Every area of the state is going as         —— Map every region for its movement
busiest corridors, like Wodonga and         hard as it can on attracting tourists          and place value, to better protect
Shepparton, are also experiencing           – local and international, so basic            the heritage, environment and
significant growth that need                issues about road signage and safety is        attractiveness of our regions, both
the support of good transport               fundamental. Whether it’s not enough           as places to visit and live.
connections.                                signage for international drivers, or too   —— Roll-out multilingual road signs
                                            many confusing signs, we’ll be taking          on key routes for international
One of the clear purposes of seeking
                                            a good look at signage right across            tourists including the Great Ocean
community feedback has been to
                                            the state.                                     Road and Phillip Island as part of a
understand the role roads can play
in growing our regions. How can we          We saw the enormous growth in                  statewide review of road signage.
make road investments really clever in      tourism from the cycling economy            —— Reduce bottlenecks in towns during
this space?                                 in the north-east to the walking               popular holiday periods and tourism
                                            trails being developed through the             events by changing green light
Instead of planning around a simple                                                        flows on key tourist routes.
                                            Grampians. Our conversations with
hierarchy of roads based on traffic
                                            regional tourism authorities and Visit      —— Partner with the inaugural High
volumes, we are digging much
                                            Victoria have uncovered so much                Country Women’s Cycling Festival
deeper to understand the economic,
                                            potential to work together to support          to promote more women to
environmental and social benefits of
                                            a growing tourism sector, which is on          enjoy the wonderland of downhill
transport investments.
                                            track to eclipse agriculture as a major        runs, cross country tracks and
The need to improve links between           employer.                                      picturesque trails
regional cities that are growing above                                                  —— Explore how we can better use
state average was a common theme:           What we are doing now
                                                                                           technology to reach people who
“We need to be developing roads for         We’ve been speaking with regional
                                                                                           rely on GPS and smartphones
regional centres rather than having all     tourism bodies and operators and
                                                                                           for traffic information and way-
roads lead to Melbourne,” is what we        Regional Partnerships to better
                                                                                           finding.
heard.                                      understand the visitation economy.

26 / VICROADS COUNTRY ROADS                                                                                                       Connecting our communities / 27
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