The state government will spend $12 million installing safety barriers along one of the Ballarat region’s most dangerous roads which has been the site of 19 serious crashes in five years.
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The Midland Highway between Ballarat and Creswick will be fitted with 11 kilometres of flexible safety barriers which will stop vehicles from drifting off the road.
The wire barriers will be installed along both sides of the highway as well as through the centre from Sulky through to White Hills Road in Creswick. Three new roundabouts at Millers, Cummins and Kennedys roads will be installed along the dangerous highway alongside wider road shoulders and a series of new overtaking lanes.
VicRoads first identified the stretch of the Midland Highway as a high risk road back in 2015 and conducted community consultation in August.
In the five years leading up to December 2015 three people died on along the road while a further 10 sustained serious injuries.
Roads and Road Safety Minister Luke Donnellan said the crash records made it clear the road needed urgent safety upgrades.
“Everyone makes mistakes on the road, but no one should die because of them,” Mr Donnellan said. “(The Midland Highway) is a heavily used and popular road but it’s not particularly wide and it’s got problems in many ways and that’s why these wire barriers are so important.”
Construction is expected to begin later this year and be completed by the end of 2018.
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