Anti-crash cash

By Paul Pickering
THE Dandenong Ranges’ most notorious crash corridor is set to receive an $8 million makeover.
The Federal Government last week handed the cash over to the Shire of Yarra Ranges for the safeguarding of Wellington Road, throwing a lucrative lifeline to hills’ motorists.
The funding will allow overtaking lanes to be strategically positioned along the dangerous traffic arterial between Clematis and Lysterfield.
The announcement by La Trobe MP Jason Wood was greeted by a collective sigh of relief from local government and police.
Sergeant John Morgan of the Yarra Ranges Traffic Management Unit said: “It has been a terrible stretch of road for fatal and serious collisions.
“We welcome the new funding so that the slower vehicles can get out of the way of the faster moving vehicles and make sure they don’t do anything stupid further up the road.”
While the overtaking lanes will form the main component of the works, the shire’s Civil Development Services manager Mark Varmalis said the guidelines of the funding were broad enough to allow for the enhancement of intersections, addition of turning lanes and the widening of shoulders to allow improved traffic flow along the road.
Mr Varmalis was buoyant about the opportunities created by the significant sum of money.
“$8 million is going to allow for quality improvements to be carried out,” he said.
“Normally these projects will be restricted to one location, but this will allow a number of different treatments.”
While the funding will be available as of 30 June, Mr Varmalis suspects that the shire’s consultation and design process will take at least 12 months.
“In conjunction with VicRoads, we will be monitoring traffic behaviour and talking to local people with first hand comments on the behaviour of drivers,” he said.
“The main constraint will be the terrain and we will be concerned with minimising the impacts on roadside vegetation.”
Mr Wood was pleased to deliver the project after receiving a favourable response in favour of the proposal in a survey distributed to his constituents in March last year.
“People have been telling me that the State Government is doing nothing,” he said.
“Clearly this was a project crying out to receive Federal funding.”
While Mr Wood was optimistic about the project’s potential to alleviate traffic congestion, he was keen to assert that if the State Government would not fund regional road projects, it should at least deliver on public transport.
Shire of Yarra Ranges deputy mayor and Lyster Ward councillor Samantha Dunn was also wary of letting road projects overshadow the need for public transport infrastructure.
“While improving road safety is critically important, we would also like to see governments of all persuasions supporting public transport options aimed at reducing traffic congestion on our roads,” Cr Dunn urged.
Federal Government guidelines expect the project to be delivered by July 2010, however Mr Varmalis would not rule out an early completion.