Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke has announced three of the most dangerous accident hotspots in the Cootamundra electorate will be upgraded as part of the NSW Government’s Safer Roads Program, which will help drive the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads Towards Zero
A 1km section of the Olympic Highway at Young, a 2.5km section of Lachlan Valley Way at Gooloogong and a 1km section of the Olympic Highway at Illabo will be upgraded to a higher standard.
“These three sections of road have been identified as appearing too often in accident statistics, and we are doing something about it,” Ms Cooke said.
“From July 2011 to 2016 the Young hotspot saw four people taken to hospital from being involved in an accident at this site, the Goologong site saw three people taken to hospital and the Illabo site saw five people taken to hospital,” she added.
“The NSW Government is investing $70.9 million across the state to deliver 180 vital safety upgrades this financial year.”
The Safer Roads Program will:
- Include re-engineering dangerous curves, installing rumble strips to alert tired drivers, widening shoulders and centre lines, and installing flexible wire rope barriers to help prevent run-off-road and head on crashes
- Use proven engineering treatments to reduce the number and severity of crashes on the state’s roads.
The projects are estimated to save the equivalent of 425 deaths and serious injuries over the life of the program.
Ms Cooke said 64 per cent of the investment will be directed to regional NSW, delivering 125 projects.
“Last year, 272 people killed on NSW roads were in the country, so this will go a long way to reduce the number of fatalities on regional roads,” she said.
“The NSW Government has invested over $282 million in road safety in the current financial year, and this $70.9 million from our Safer Roads Program will deliver more important safety upgrades in 2018-19 for many of our most dangerous roads.”
Safer Roads projects are funded from the Community Road Safety Fund, which receives all revenue from speed and red-light cameras in NSW.
