Wednesday, 19 May, 2021
Pakenham
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New limit for another major road
Waiting for rail compensation
Demons reflect on glory days
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SPORT 12483474-SN09-21
Battle for reservoir heats up
Killer speed cuts By Shelby Brooks
The side road activated 70km/h signs at Snell Road is dangerous for trucks. 210407 they are becoming increasingly frustrated that they can’t reduce the number of trucks using the roads by using higher productivity vehicles because the road network is simply not able to accommodate the truck needed.” He said the roundabout in Drouin, developments in Drouin South and getting access to the Princes Freeway were all major issues. He thinks creating a new freeway entry and exit at Lardner Track would help. “All the current freeway exits are 30 years old, are they suitable now?” he said. “We need to get trucks coming from Korumburra and Warragul out of CBD of Drouin.” Upgrades to the Lardner Track connections are not under consideration by the Department of Transport.
Mr Ernst said the number sand trucks travelling out of Lang Lang to join the South Gippsland Highway had become quite a problem. Some will go north on the Kooweerup bypass and increase truck movement in that area while others head through Drouin via a single railway bridge in the small roundabout to a processing plant in the nearby industrial estate. “They’re active around 4am in the morning. Mixing with cars in the early morning and late in the evening is becoming quite a problem,” Mr Ernst said. “It can also affect the amenity of the towns. Truck drivers are aware of that but don’t have any other option.”
Mr Ernst said something must be done now before there are even more trucks on the road. “It’s only going to get worse as they quadruple the size of the mine in Nyora,” he said. Department of Transport Gippsland regional director Sara Rhodes-Ward said the department would continue to monitor the safety of arterial roads in urban growth areas in the region. “We are aware of high heavy vehicle traffic volumes on Westernport Road and South Gippsland Highway and continue to work with the Cardinia Shire Council on monitoring traffic flow,” she said. “We completed significant upgrades to the South Gippsland Highway near Lang Lang in 2017 to improve safety.”
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Truck drivers say the speed drop on the Princes Freeway at Snell Road could cost someone their life. Safe Freight Networks Australia project manager John Ernst met with other concerned truck drivers in Warragul recently to discuss their concerns. “The 70km/h on the Princes Freeway, cars are slamming on their breaks to go down to 70km/h then seconds later back to 100km/h and they’re nearly colliding with trucks,” he said. Side road activated speed technology, which was installed along the Princes Highway at Snell Road in November last year. The electronic speed signs are triggered by sensors which detect cars approaching on the side road, and temporarily reduce the speed on the highway from 100 kilometres to 70 kilometres, until the car is able to turn. Temporary 70km/h signs installed at Gumbuya World that have since been removed also caused issues, Mr Ernst said. “The fly over planned for Gumbuya World, when that is developed it would be good to allow for trucks out of the quarries on that side.” But Mr Ernst said truck drivers are reporting near misses all the time. “Our concerns are pretty legitimate,” he said. “There are frustrated drivers doing silly things to get around trucks. “We want to recognise it as an emerging problem before someone gets killed.” Safe Freight Networks is also concerned about the number of trucks travelling across the Strzelecki Rangers from Korumburra to Warragul and in areas that are now being developed for housing. “There are 400-500 truck movements a day in that area,” Mr Ernst said. “Routes through this area are becoming more and more congested and this will only get worse as housing pushes further south. “Truck drivers just drive on the roads they are given and will continue to do their job but