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$2.43 million road safety upgrade for Paynesville Road

A new roundabout will be constructed at the troublesome Paynesville/Forge Creek Road intersection, State Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, announced today.

“The road is quite busy with both tourist and local traffic, which has seen some community concern raised over the intersection, particularly after three serious accidents of relatively recent times.

“At that time there were many who believed a roundabout was the preferred solution and after the speed limit was reduced in this area as an interim measure, a closer examination of the location has determined a roundabout is the preferred outcome in relation to safety.”

“I certainly thank the local VicRoads and Victoria Police staff who agreed to on-site meetings to progress the preliminary work required to reach this point.”

“The roundabout will improve safety and to slow vehicles through the area.

“Detailed planning for this work will be undertaken, with construction of the new roundabout expected to start in spring 2014.

“It is anticipated at this stage the work will take around five months to complete.

“The funding is the centrepiece of Victoria’s new Road Safety Strategy 2013-22 and Action Plan 2013-16, which includes a new and stronger focus on measuring and reducing serious injuries.

“The Victorian Government has lifted the Safer Road Infrastructure (SRIP) funding to $1 billion over 10 years, an increase of more than 30 per cent a year, in a bid to reduce the risks to road users through vital safety improvements.

“We’ve had successive, record low road tolls in Victoria and we need to keep working hard to ensure that we stay a world leader in road safety,” Mr Bull said.

Officer in Charge of Bairnsdale Highway Patrol, Sergeant Dwayne Morrison welcomed the news of the extra funding for this intersection.

“There had been a significant number of collisions at this intersection leading up to the change in speed zones and signage improvements conducted last year, and after further consultation with VicRoads and East Gippsland Shire Council it is pleasing to see further safety improvements will be made with the construction of this new roundabout,” Sergeant Morrison said.