- More Regional Road Safety Program projects funded in Great Southern
- Four more projects will commence later this year
- New projects will see more than 114km of roads upgraded with safety treatments
- More than 600km of road network in Great Southern now upgraded through program
The State Labor Government is continuing its significant road safety investment in the Great Southern, with four more projects scheduled to commence under the landmark $1 billion Regional Road Safety Program (RRSP) later this year.
Since the RRSP was established in 2020 more than 600km of the State road network in the Great Southern has received safety upgrades such as sealed shoulders or audible edge lines.
This includes large sections of Albany Highway, Muir Highway, Great Southern Highway, South Western Highway, South Coast Highway and Chester Pass Road.
The installation of these low-cost safety treatments is helping reduce the number of single vehicle run-off road crashes one of the leading causes of death and serious injury on regional roads.
Around $21 million is being invested to deliver the four new projects including:
- 48km of sealed shoulders and audible edge lines on Muir Highway
- 34km of sealed shoulders and audible edge lines on Albany Highway
- 28km of sealed shoulders and audible edge lines on Albany Lake Grace Road
- Four kilometres of audible edge lines on Donnybrook Kojonup Road
Last year saw a 28 per cent reduction in the number of people killed on regional roads compared to 2022 and represented the lowest number of deaths in a decade.
The Regional Road Safety Program is jointly funded by the State and Commonwealth Governments.
As stated by Transport Minister Rita Saffioti:
"The Regional Road Safety Program is a landmark initiative that is delivering critical safety upgrades to the State's regional road network, especially in the Great Southern region.
"We know single vehicle run off road crashes are one of the leading cause of deaths on regional roads in Western Australia and this program is helping to combat this issue.
"We are all susceptible to lapses in concentration but by installing low-cost safety treatments like audible edge lines and sealed shoulders we're providing drivers with additional safety nets in the unlikely event if they veer off the road.
"We saw last year a significant decline in the number of people killed on regional roads, which is a really strong indicator the investment we are making is having a real impact."
As stated by Road Safety Minister David Michael:
"These initiatives are very important given that regional road users are historically overrepresented in our crash statistics.
"There is no question that these improvement to our regional roads are effective. Research by the Curtin-Monash Accident Research Centre found sealing of road shoulders and installation of audible edge lines (rumble strips) were highly effective overall, significantly reducing crash rates by 58 per cent and casualty crashes by 79 per cent.
"This is a great example of this Government taking an evidenced-based approach to making our roads safer."
