June 12, 2012
The closure of the Princes Highway east of Orbost due to storm damage has further highlighted the need for a major upgrade of the region’s key transport route, according to Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester.
Mr Chester said last week’s closure had major social and economic consequences and strengthened his ongoing campaign for State and Federal Governments to work together to improve the road.
He said the road corridor needed to be widened where possible to reduce the risk of closure following storms or bushfires and to improve driver safety.
“It’s not good enough in the twenty-first century for our region’s major transport link to be shut for several days because of trees falling across the road,” Mr Chester said.
“The disruption to the economy, not to mention the danger to the health and wellbeing of communities which were isolated, demands a response from governments.
“The highway is the artery of East Gippsland and when it is blocked, the whole region suffers.”
Mr Chester is convening a meeting with local transport operators, VicRoads and State MP Tim Bull to discuss ways to further pursue the case for an upgrade of the highway. He has also written to Federal Minister Anthony Albanese and neighbouring Eden-Monaro MP Mike Kelly to emphasise the need for a Federal response to the highway issues.
“The lack of roadside shoulders, the need for more overtaking lanes and improvements to rest areas have all been documented in the past but this latest closure has increased the urgency for action,” he said.
“If the road corridor was cleared of vegetation where practical, it would reduce the danger in run-off road accidents and the highway would be safer in storm and fire events.
“A clearer roadside would also allow for emergency access by Helimed if an accident occurred. At the moment, there are long stretches of highway that are inaccessible from the air.
“We have skilled contractors in our region who could undertake a lot of the clearing work as part of a major safety upgrade that would benefit locals and visitors to our region.
“There will always be storm damage, bushfires and floods – our challenge is to minimise the impacts and improve the safety of our community.”