Work is now underway on safety upgrades at two high risk intersections in Morwell with funding coming from the Rudd Labor Government’s Economic Stimulus Plan.

The Rudd Labor Government has provided VicRoads with $341,000 to upgrade the intersection of Traralgon and Vincent roads, and a further $252,000 to upgrade the intersection of Traralgon Road and Church Street.

Both these locations on Traralgon Road have been the scenes of a number of crashes in recent years, some serious.

I congratulate the Victorian Government for moving so quickly to put our economic stimulus money to work supporting jobs and fixing dangerous black spots on the State’s local roads.

Details of the two Morwell projects are:

• Traralgon Road and Church Street intersection: The repositioning of the traffic lights for better visibility and the installation of special LED globes installed so they are brighter to motorists. Furthermore, changes to how the lights operate will simplify movement through the intersection with motorists having to wait for a fully controlled green arrow before turning right when approaching from the east.


• Traralgon Road and Vincent Street intersection: The traffic lights will be upgraded, with its globes replaced with special LEDs and a fully controlled right turn signal installed. Pedestrian access will also be improved through the laying of a new footpath from the Traralgon Road bus stop to the intersection’s crossing points.

The asphalt at both will also be replaced so as to minimise the potential for skidding, with this work expected to be undertaken later this year.

These projects were recommended by a panel of independent road safety experts.

The Black Spot program has a proven track record of saving lives with an evaluation showing that it prevented at least 32 fatalities and more than 1,500 serious injuries in its first three years.

Not only have we honoured our election commitment to increase on-going black spot funding by a massive 33 per cent, but we’ve also provided significant additional funding under our Economic Stimulus Plan.