The Upper Hunter electorate will receive $2.3 million for vital road safety works as the fifth round of the $822 million Safer Roads Program begins to roll out.
Upper Hunter MP Dave Layzell said the program, which is funded through the Community Road Safety Fund and delivered in partnership with local councils, will deliver 44 new projects and fund the continuation of a number of projects from previous rounds.
“The NSW Government is committed to reducing the road toll and it’s estimated the Safer Roads Program will prevent around 1500 serious injuries and deaths on NSW roads over 15 years,” Mr Layzell said.
“These road improvements are designed to save lives and will include:
· $1.26 million for the Golden Highway at Uarbry Road, Cassilis - To widen the existing shoulder, install new safety barrier, improve curve realignment and delineation (signs and lines);
· Golden Highway, Singleton to Uarbry, $550,000 - Development funding to investigate mitigations of road safety issues along this stretch of the highway; and,
· $500,000 for the New England Highway, from Muswellbrook to Willow Tree - Development funding to investigate mitigations of road safety issues between these locations.
“This is a huge win for the Upper Hunter and will ensure we keep road users as safe as possible when travelling our roads.”
Minister for Regional Roads and Transport Sam Farraway said that the NSW Government is committed to reducing this trauma and that is why the majority of funding for the Safer Roads Program has been invested in regional NSW.
“Country people make up around a third of NSW’s population but over the past five years deaths on country roads made up 67 per cent of our road toll,” Mr Farraway said.
“We are investing $640 million into the Saving Lives on Country Roads Initiative, and since 2018 have committed to delivering 469 projects in regional NSW to help prevent the serious injuries and deaths of country drivers.
“During 2022-23, $89 million will be invested in the Saving Lives on Country Roads Initiative to fund 24 new regional projects as well as a number of ongoing projects in regional NSW.”
State wide this round of the Safer Roads Program will deliver:
32 kilometres of safety barriers, which absorb impact forces and protect vehicle occupants, reducing the severity of head-on and run-off-road crashes by up to 95 per cent.
32 kilometres of rumble strips to alert motorists they are departing from their lane, reducing the likelihood of this crash type by up to 25 per cent. And,
110 high-risk rural curve improvements including shoulder sealing, safety barriers, rumble strips, signage upgrades and line-marking upgrades.
Photo: Golden Highway roadworks near Ogilvies Hill between Jerrys Plains and Denman.
