ONE of the Swan Hill CBD’s most dangerous intersections — McCallum and Campbell
— is set to receive traffic lights.
The $841,000 intersection upgrade, to be
delivered by VicRoads, involves the installation of new signals and changes to
the intersection layout.
Vic Roads acting regional director David Runnalls
said the project would improve conditions for freight movement on the east-west
arterial route and reduce intersection delays.
“This route provides important
freight access for traffic travelling between western Victoria and New South
Wales and supports the surrounding industries of dairy, livestock, horticulture,
grains, hay and manufacturing,” Mr Runnalls said.
“It is anticipated that
there will be no impacts on properties or parks beyond the current road reserve
area,” he said.
VicRoads expects to start design and planning activities in
the coming months, with construction activities expected to be completed within
2014-2015.
Swan Hill Police’s head of traffic management unit Les McPhee said
the CBD junction, currently under a give-way system, was among the most
dangerous locally.
“That intersection is one of the more dangerous in town,”
Sergeant McPhee said.
“It’s one of the higher ones for collisions in the last
12 months, but nothing life-threatening.”
Sergeant McPhee said the prospect
of a roundabout had been raised early on during discussions about the
intersection.
“[Traffic] lights are not always the best traffic solution —
roundabouts get traffic going a lot more smoothly — but sometimes lights are the
only solution suitable for a particular interection.”
The most recent
available traffic information (provided by Swan Hill Rural City Council for
Campbell Street, between McCrae and McCallum Streets, which are local roads)
indicates about 10,000 vehicles use Campbell Street at the intersection on a
daily basis.
The $841,000 in funding from the Victorian Government was a part
of the Transport Solutions regional freight initiative, which provides $28
million for 30 projects designed to support the state’s regional export
industries.
For more of this story, see Wednesday’s Guardian (August 7).
