The Nationals’ Member for Morwell, Martin Cameron, has heightened calls for urgent action at two of the Latrobe Valley’s most dangerous intersections in light of news that trains will be running more frequently on the Traralgon line.
Safety upgrades were promised for the intersection at Waterloo Road and Lloyd Street in Moe some five years ago, but the Allan Labor Government has still not broken ground on the project despite acknowledging it poses an unacceptable risk to road users.
Likewise, at the notoriously dangerous Bank Street intersection in Traralgon, upgrades have come to a grinding halt and Valley residents have been pleading with Labor to install traffic lights for three years.
“There will soon be trains running every 40 minutes along the Traralgon line, which is welcome news, but this means these two death-trap intersections will pose an even greater risk to road users,” Mr Cameron said.
“More than 13,500 vehicles cross the train tracks at Waterloo Road and Lloyd Street every day, and there have been at least three serious crashes at the intersection in the last two years.
“Vehicles, including trucks and buses, frequently queue short-stacked across the train tracks, and it is no exaggeration to say that this current intersection is a complete death-trap.
“Valley residents have been pleading with Labor to install traffic lights for three years at the Bank Street intersection in Traralgon, and every time it has fallen on deaf ears.
“People in golf carts literally risk their lives attempting to cross four lanes of traffic turning out of the golf club, and there have been several serious crashes including one last year involving a school bus full of children.
“This city-centric Labor government loves to tell us it has removed 87 level crossings in Melbourne, but it goes missing every time when it comes to these two intersections in the Latrobe Valley.
“I have raised the issues of these two intersections in Parliament a combined 20 times, and still the Minister for Roads can’t grasp the urgency of finishing these upgrades.
“Labor can’t manage money, can’t manage roads, and it’s regional Victorians who pay the price.”
