January 8, 2010
Community opposition is continuing to grow against construction works at the corner of Lake Tyers Beach Rd and the Princes Highway.
More residents from the communities of Lake Tyers Beach, Mill Point and Toorloo Arm have this week contacted Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester to seek a solution with VicRoads.
Mr Chester wants VicRoads to meet with a delegation of local residents as soon as possible to look at ways to improve safety at the intersection.
“Despite the intention of remodelling to make the intersection safer, local residents are contacting me to raise their concerns that the intersection has become significantly more dangerous and many have cited near misses since construction work began,” Mr Chester said.
“They believe it has made the stretch of highway more dangerous than it was before and it is only a matter of time before there is a serious accident at the intersection.”
Mr Chester has this week written to all residents in the immediate vicinity and asked for feedback on the intersection.
“With the new T-intersection, larger trucks, buses or vehicles towing boats and caravans are forced to enter the opposing lane as they turn left to join the Princes Highway and this has created a situation where slow moving, turning vehicles are interacting with highway traffic which could be travelling at up to 100km/h,” Mr Chester said.
“There is an advisory speed sign of 80km/h for vehicles travelling from Nowa Nowa to Lakes Entrance. But the fact remains that vehicles travelling at relatively high speeds are going to swing around the large bend in the road and face another vehicle which is slowly picking up speed after emerging from Lake Tyers Beach Rd.
“I share the concerns of the local community and believe that a potential accident black spot has been created by the works which were intended to make the intersection safer.”
Mr Chester has been a strong campaigner for improved road conditions throughout Gippsland since his election in 2008 and said the release of the latest crash data before Christmas was proof that the Princes Highway east needs urgent government attention.
“The annual Victorian road toll may have dropped to a record low last year but a disproportionate number of fatalities continue to occur in regional areas, particularly Gippsland,” Mr Chester said.
“The Princes Highway east of Melbourne has the worst accident rate in Victoria and on top of that, there were 14 deaths recorded on East Gippsland roads last year making it the second worst location for road fatalities in the State.
“The State and Federal Governments need to allocate additional funding to improve the road environment which has been shown in several reports to be a proven measure in reducing the road toll.”