Action urged on crash corner

By Paul Pickering
THE UPWEY Fire Brigade has pleaded with VicRoads to do something about the cause of a series of accidents at a Mount Dandenong Tourist Road corner in Tremont.
After attending three accidents in the space of a week at Half Moon Corner, below the Tremont Store, Upwey CFA captain Peter Marke said he was compelled to stress concerns raised with VicRoads in June 2004.
“The brigade believes the problem is predominantly oil spillage on the bitumen from vehicles braking for the corner, and is proposing the surface be grooved or treated with a non-slip surface,” Mr Marke said.
In response to concerns raised earlier by Mr Marke, VicRoads installed “Slippery When Wet” signs at the corner, and resolved to resurface the section of road as part of its 2007-08 maintenance program.
When first informed of VicRoads’ intentions to address the issue last week, Mr Marke was encouraged by the recognition of danger, but he was also keen to promote the urgency of the matter.
“The community, and the people who have come to grief on this corner, will be vitally interested in what (VicRoads) proposes to do,” he said.
“Accidents will continue to occur with every instance of wet weather.”
VicRoads Metro South East regional manager Steve Brown noted that maintenance assessments were “undertaken annually on a statewide basis, which means locations with a higher priority evaluation are addressed first”.
Mr Marke said he would ask VicRoads to be more specific in relation to the timing of the works.
“This has gone on for far too long and we’ve had enough,” he said.