Truckies back upgrade calls

By Alison Noonan
MAJOR truck companies have backed police calls for the urgent duplication of the notorious Western Port Highway.
Representatives met with local police, CFA and Hastings MP Rosy Buchanan on Friday to discuss the need for upgrades to the popular road, following a fatality and a string of serious injury crashes in recent months.
Cranbourne Senior Sergeant Trevor Teer said police received a great amount of support from local truckies, who agreed to put extra pressure on VicRoads and the State Government for immediate works.
“The meeting was very positive. We received a lot of commitment from a lot of big people,” he said.
“We found that truckies share the same concerns we do about the number of accidents on the road and want to see an urgent duplication.”
Sen Sgt Teer said the diversion of trucks off the highway after an accident cost the companies millions of dollars every year.
He said trucks were forced to waste valuable time and money finding alternative routes.
“Every accident that either puts their trucks off the road or forces them to detour puts them out of whack and costs them a lot of money.
“A total of 16,000 vehicles use the road everyday. The number of accidents is causing us a lot of angst,” he said.
Sergeant Pat McGavigan of Casey Traffic Management Unit said that because of the distance to a hospital, a rescue helicopter had to be called every time a serious accident occurred, forcing the closure of the road.
“Once the road is closed the trucks have to be diverted up alternative roads, which costs them time and money.
“It also causes a lot of wear and tear on local roads,” he said.
Linfox site supervisor at Bluescope Westernport, Don Fuller, said the diversion of company trucks caused a great deal of interference with operations.
He said the trucking giant was happy to begin lobbying the State Government for the duplication of the road.
“Linfox supports this important initiative of the Cranbourne Police.
“Safety is always an important issue to Linfox and upgrading the freeway will lead to a safer working environment for our drivers. It will also lead to a better and safer road for the community at large,” he said.
Sen Sgt Teer branded the State Government’s plan to construct a roundabout at the North Road intersection as “a bandaid fix”, claiming duplication was the only solution.
“North Road is our worst intersection but I don’t see a roundabout going far enough to fix the problem.
“It will only work to slow traffic down right at that point. Traffic needs to be slowed right down the road.
“The truck companies also agreed that the current speed limit of 100km/h is far too fast and should be changed to 80km/h,” he said.
Hastings MP Rosy Buchanan said the meeting was the first time trucking companies had banded together to talk about the road safety problems in the area.
“It some ways it was a groundbreaking meeting.
“It was a very productive discussion, with all parties showing a lot of intent to collaborate and work together to address safety issues on the road. I think it was the start of some really good working relationships in the future and I will continue to work with residents, local CFA and police to get a good outcome,” she said.