By XAVIER SMERDON
A KEY intersection of the Princes Freeway in Werribee South will receive a much-needed safety upgrade, the State Government has announced.
Member for the Western Metropolitan Region, Andrew Elsbury, said $870,000 would be spent to upgrade the intersection where the Princes Freeway West off-ramp intersects with Duncans Rd and K Road.
“The works will include the installation of new traffic signals with a fully controlled right turn on all approaches, extension of the right turn lane on Duncans Rd and the installation of a skid resistant overlay,” Mr Elsbury said.
Minister for Roads and Public Transport, Terry Mulder said the intersection had a history of six crashes in the five years to 31 December 2012, three of which resulted in serious injury.
“This project will help to address the predominant crash type at this location which involves traffic entering Duncans Rd,” Mr Mulder said.
“The traffic improvements are sure to be welcomed by the community in the growing area of Werribee South.”
Mr Elsbury said the Victorian Government has significantly boosted the SRIP program to $1 billion over 10 years, an increase of more than 30 per cent a year, in a bid to reduce the risks to road users through vital safety improvements.
An evaluation into the effectiveness of the program by the Monash University Accident Research Centre indicated that the program is producing a reduction of 31 per cent for all casualty crashes.
“We’ve had successive record low road tolls in Victoria and we need to keep working hard to ensure that we stay a world leader in road safety,” he said.
