Victorians will have safer journeys on the state’s roads thanks to a funding boost by the Australian and Victorian governments for more lifesaving infrastructure.
This additional $56 million investment in road safety in Victoria will fund another 29 lifesaving projects, bringing the total investment in 2021 through the Road Safety Program to more than $300 million.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Barnaby Joyce said one life lost on Australian roads is one too many.
“That’s why the Australian Government has committed $3 billion for the nationwide Road Safety Program,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
“Our Government is committed to keeping our communities safe, while securing our economic recovery.
“The funding supports the fast roll-out of life-saving safety works on rural and regional roads, and is another example of the Australian Government working to reduce the number of Australians missing around the dinner table due to tragedies on our roads.”
Victorian Minister for Roads and Road Safety Ben Carroll said the bulk of this investment is being targeted in regional areas, including the installation of flexible safety barriers and rumble strips. This will help lower the risk of the two most significant causes of deaths on regional Victorian roads – head-on and run-off-road crashes.
“The Road Safety Program is already delivering life-saving improvements across Victoria’s roads, with each project directly contributing to reducing road trauma and saving lives,” Minister Carroll said.
“It also supports Victoria’s Road Safety Strategy 2021–2030 which sets ambitious targets to halve road deaths and significantly reduce serious injuries by 2030 – setting the state on a path to zero road deaths by 2050.”
Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport Scott Buchholz said road safety was a key priority for the Australian Government and this investment in road upgrades would provide a boost to the economy while ensuring Victorians can get home sooner and safer.
“Making our roads safer is a critical component of our work to reduce deaths and serious injuries on our roads and move towards achieving vision zero – that is zero deaths or serious injuries on our roads by 2050,” Mr Buchholz said.
“We are also investing significantly in other life-saving road safety initiatives including the Black Spot Program, Targeted Road Safety Works initiative and Road Safety Innovation Fund.
“This additional funding complements that work, resulting in an even greater roll out of improved infrastructure and roads right across the nation.”
Of the extra funding, almost $49 million will be invested in regional Victoria to deliver 18 road safety projects, with the remaining funds directed toward traffic calming, safer pedestrian access and electronic speed limit signs at schools and other high traffic pedestrian areas in metropolitan Melbourne.
The Australian Government’s funding for the Road Safety Program is subject to ‘use it or lose it’ provisions and will deliver life-saving treatments on regional roads and protect vulnerable road users across Victoria, while also supporting local jobs and providing a welcome boost to local economies.
The ‘use it or lose it’ provisions require states and territories to use their notionally allocated funds within a timeframe, or the funds can be reallocated to projects in other jurisdictions.
The initial $245 million investment in the Road Safety Program is already delivering results with more than 59 projects in regional Victoria delivered.
More information on the Australian Government’s road safety initiatives is available at .
Reviewed 13 August 2021