Loch intersection concerns response from Minister Horne

COUNCILLOR Nathan Hersey welcomed a response from the Victorian Government’s Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Melissa Horne, after she was contacted regarding community concerns about the dangers of the intersection of South Gippsland Highway with Loch-Poowong Road and Victoria Road in Loch.

Cr Hersey said while community concern already existed, a fatal motorcycle accident at the site late last year prompted more people to speak out about the safety issues they perceive at the intersection. 

A guard rail near the corner of South Gippsland Highway and Victoria Road remains severely damaged from a previous vehicle accident, with no repair having occurred.

Cr Hersey stressed there are significant issues with the line of sight for those turning right from Loch-Poowong Road onto South Gippsland Highway, with the situation exacerbated by excess vegetation.

“Before you know it, there are cars on you,” he said.

That was starkly illustrated as trucks and cars hurtled by the Loch-Poowong Road median strip vantage point on which this scribe and Cr Hersey stood.

While Minister Horne’s response indicates a combination of vegetation removal and trimming is scheduled for mid-February this year at the intersection, there is no guarantee of further safety improvements.

“The Department of Transport and Planning receives many requests each year for improvements to its road network to increase safety and accessibility; proposals for improvement projects must be evaluated on a State-wide basis and reviewed for relative priority,” Ms Horne’s letter states.

She indicates that traffic volumes, pedestrian activity levels, the historical safety record, the effectiveness of any treatments to improve safety, implementation costs and advice received from key stakeholders such as Victoria Police and councils are all considered.

“Any improvement proposals for this section of the South Gippsland Highway, including the Loch-Poowong Road intersection will be considered in this context,” Ms Horne wrote.

She added that traffic engineers will undertake a safety assessment of that section of the highway but no timeframe is specified for that to occur.

“Should this assessment identify safety improvements that it considers appropriate, DTP will consider them for implementation based on the above criteria; this includes a review of the crash history, current speed zones, signing, line marking and other road infrastructure,” Ms Horne said.

“Council seeks your support to consider and implement changes that will improve safety for road users and the community,” the correspondence received by Minister Horne stated.

One suggestion put to the minister is to consider the introduction of a 70km/h ‘approaching vehicles warning’ for the Loch-Poowong Road/Victoria Road and South Gippsland Highway intersection.