Vic's Western Freeway receives life-saving wire rope barriers

Wire rope barriers are being implemented on the Western Freeway between the Western Ring Road and Ballarat, as part of a $37 million safety upgrade.

Minister for Roads and Road Safety Luke Donnellan visited a worksite outside of Bacchus Marsh where life-saving wire rope barriers are being installed.

“We’re installing these barriers because they are proven to save lives — it’s simple as that,” said Donnellan.

Last year, existing flexible safety barriers on the Western Freeway were hit 147 times, preventing deadly crashes on each occasion.

Regional Victoria remains over-represented in fatalities with the number of lives lost on rural roads up from 150 to 155 in 2017, while Victoria’s overall lives lost figure fell from 290 in 2016 to 257 last year.

Victorians are five times more likely to die on rural roads than in the city, so the state government is investing in flexible safety barriers, rumble strip line-marking and overtaking lanes on the state’s most high-risk rural roads.

In addition to the safety improvements, the government has doubled the VicRoads road maintenance budget with a $556 million package announced in last year’s budget.

Image courtesy of the office of the Minister for Roads and Road Safety.