Motorists travelling along the Old Calder Highway in Keilor Park will experience a safer journey thanks to the installation of new safety treatments to reduce road trauma.
Roads and Road Safety Minister Ben Carroll said the measures will help increase driver awareness and reduce the likelihood of head-on collisions.
Works will involve the installation of tactiles, as well as new line marking and signage between Keilor Park Drive and Bonfield Street.
Over the period between January 2017 and December 2021, there were six crashes along this section of the Old Calder Highway, three resulting in serious injury, and tragically one fatality. Five of the crashes were as a result of head-on collisions.
Following last year’s fatality, the Department of Transport has been working closely with Brimbank council and Victoria Police to investigate the most effective interim treatments to improve safety for all road users.
Audio tactiles installed in the centre of the road will help raise driver awareness and reduce the occurrence of motorists veering across the line.
The black audio tactile ribs placed down the centre of the undivided road provide sound and vibration to alert motorists who have crossed the centre line, reducing the risk of head-on and run-off road crashes to the right.
Double barrier centre lines will create a distance between oncoming lanes of traffic to help prevent head-on crashes. Raised retroreflective pavement markers will guide motorists within their lanes, especially at night, and act as a small bump to alert drivers when they are crossing the line.
With this stretch of road consisting of several bends, new signage and line marking will warn and guide motorists of oncoming changes to the road alignment and the need to slow down.
An important connection between Taylors Lakes and Keilor Park, the Old Calder Highway provides access to local schools, shops and other amenities in Melbourne’s north-west.
Works will be completed by mid-2022.
Mr Carroll said: “One life lost on our roads is one too many, which is why we are installing these safety treatments on the Old Calder Highway to reduce road trauma and save lives.
“We have worked hard with our road safety partners and council and are delivering improvements to make it safer for all motorists.”
Sydenham MP Natalie Hutchins said the Old Calder Highway was a road used by many in Melbourne’s west each day.
