Upgrades for killer stretch

Emergency services attend a crash on a Pakenham South road, now to be upgraded. Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS 164869_03

By Bonny Burrows

Upgrades to a notorious section of Healesville-Kooweerup Road which claimed two lives last year have been announced just hours after another lucky escape.
A 27 year-old Moe woman was airlifted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital with pelvis, wrist, leg and possible spinal injuries on Tuesday after her Nissan Pulsar collided with a 45-tonne sand truck at the intersection of Kooweerup and Ballarto roads, Pakenham South, just before 9am.
Coincidentally, the Premier was in town spruiking road and level crossing safety initiatives and a little over two hours later the State Government announced a $60,000 upgrade to Healesville-Kooweerup Road.
Member for Eastern Victoria Daniel Mulino said works would include the installation of new centre line rumble strips between G K O’Connor Driveway and Ellet Road to address head-on crashes and near misses.
The broken centre line between the S-bends will also be converted to a continuous single solid barrier to ban overtaking and new raised reflective markers and guide posts will be installed to improve conditions in wet and dark conditions.
Mr Mulino said the improvements were in addition to recently installed warning signs highlighting the road’s high-risk bends and the trimming of vegetation undertaken by VicRoads.
The investment would be welcome news to the Pakenham and surrounding communities, who have fought for the road’s upgrade following last year’s deaths of a 27-year old Wantirna man and a 22-year-old Mount Evelyn woman in separate incidents on the same three-kilometre stretch.
A safety forum in September last year bought the road to the attention of VicRoads, who acknowledged the road’s dangers, including bare minimum road widths, but said any upgrades was subject to future funding.
A community safety campaign was also undertaken by The Gazette later in the year to highlight the devastating impacts of the road toll, while local politicians including McMillian MP Russell Broadbent and Member for Bass Brian Paynter also voiced needs for upgrades.
Following Tuesday’s announcement, Mr Mulino said the government had listened to the community’s concern “and we are putting measures in place to improve safety”.
“Two lives were lost on this road last year alone and these measures are important for making this road safer,” he said.
Works will begin in the coming weeks and are set to be completed by the end of June 2017.
Ambulance Victoria confirmed the woman involved in the latest crash was in a stable condition as of Tuesday afternoon, while the 31-year-old male truck driver from Moorabbin was “shaken but OK”.