A history of deadly “run-off“ crashes has prompted the State Government to instal 140km of wire rope barrier on the Princes Freeway between Waurn Ponds and north Laverton.
Four people died and 33 were seriously injured in 60 run-off crashes along the strip in the five years to 16 July, the Traffic Accident Commission TAC) said.
The government had so far installed 40km of barrier between Geelong and Melbourne, the TAC said.
“The project is nearing the halfway mark, with work on the Geelong-bound carriageway progressing at a rate of 1km a day. The entire 73km safety upgrade is expected to be complete by the end of 2018.
The freeway between Melbourne and Geelong carries 106,000 drivers daily.
The government plans to install more than 1500km of wire rope barriers across the state as part of a $1 billion spend to improve safety on “high-risk arterial roads”.
“Everyone makes mistakes on the road but no-one should die because of them,” said Road Safety Minister Luke Donnellan, after inspecting the $17.5 million freeway project this week.
The barriers are unlikely to win support among the freeways’ motorcyclists, who have previously labelled them “rider-slicers” and “widow-makers”.
Motorcyclists complain the wires are deadly to riders who lack the protection of a car body if they collide with the barriers.
Victoria’s peak motorcyclists group last year called for a statewide ban on wire rope barriers.
