$8 million upgrade to make Toodyay Road safer
- $5 million improvement to section near Noble Falls completed
- Further $3 million package of works from Noble Falls to Aspen Road underway
- Upgrade project guided by Wheatbelt Highway Safety Review findings
A $5 million project to improve safety and traffic flow along a stretch of Toodyay Road has been completed, with a second $3 million upgrade now underway.
Transport Minister Dean Nalder said Toodyay Road was a crucial east-west connection between Midland and Toodyay which carried more than 4,000 vehicles daily.
“The completion of the $5 million project, funded through the Liberal National Government’s Safer Roads Program, will ensure the road is safer for the drivers and passengers in those vehicles, as well as local residents and businesses,” he said.
“The improvements have been designed to reduce the likelihood of head-on or right-angle crashes, and will allow safer and easier access to roadside homes and other properties.”
Mr Nalder said key features of the completed $5 million project included:
- widening of Toodyay Road to provide right and left-turn lanes onto Noble Falls Road, and safer access into Noble Falls Tavern and adjacent properties
- clearing and road realignment to improve sightlines and visibility
- new guard rails on both sides of Toodyay Road and upgraded street lighting.
Deputy Premier and Road Safety Minister Liza Harvey said the next stage of the Toodyay Road safety upgrade, from Noble Falls east to Aspen Road, was now underway and expected to be completed by July 2016.
“The $3 million stage 2 project stemmed from the inaugural Wheatbelt Highway Safety Review and was funded by the Road Trauma Trust Account in the 2016-17 State Budget,” she said.
“The project will improve safety by widening and sealing road shoulders, installing safety barriers and upgrading signposts.”
Mrs Harvey said a record $146 million had been allocated from the Road Trauma Trust Account in 2016-17, of which nearly $8 million was to fund recommendations from the Wheatbelt Highway Safety Review.
Fact File
- There have been 12 road crashes on Toodyay Road between Noble Falls Road and Aspen Road in the five years to 2014, including a head-on collision in 2013 which killed a local resident and her two young sons
- The Wheatbelt Highway Safety Review involved experts examining notorious stretches of road and coming up with holistic improvements
Source: News Release, Western Australia Government, 1, June 2016