ON Monday, February 17, a driver on Labuan Road between Strathmerton and Yarroweyah failed to give way at the intersection and collided with a vehicle travelling along Murray Valley Highway. While thankfully no lives were lost, two people were hospitalised.
The accident has renewed calls for safety upgrades at the intersection, which was the scene of a tragic collision in April 2023 that tragically claimed five lives. At the time, State Member for Northern Victoria, Wendy Lovell, called for major safety upgrades, including changing the give-way sign to a stop sign, removing the road hump that obscures sight of the intersection, installing traffic lights, repairing the road surface and removing road-side trees that hinder the view of drivers.
However, it has now almost been two years since that fatal crash and no major work has been done to implement the substantial upgrades required at the intersection.
The State Government has not committed any funding to safety upgrades in the area. However, in June 2024 the Federal Government announced $2.16M for upgrades along Labuan Road and the Murray Valley Highway intersection as part of its Black Spot Program.
While funding is available, work has still not begun and the history of traffic accidents at the intersection suggests there could be more collisions in future if immediate action is not taken.
Both Ms Lovell and Member for Northern Victoria, Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell raised the matter in parliament last week.
“Tragically, six lives have been lost at this intersection in the last two years and the Government must do everything possible to make drivers travelling north on Labuan Rd aware that they are approaching a busy highway ahead,” said Mrs Tyrrell.
“The one thing the government has done is lower the speed limit which has done nothing to stop these terrible collisions, and I call on the Minister to implement effective safety measures at the intersection to improve safety for road users.”
Ms Lovell said, “The problems at the notorious blackspot are well-known and the solutions are obvious, but eight months after Federal funding was announced the Allan Labor Government is still sitting on its hands instead of getting work started at this intersection.”
“The Victorian Government must urgently award the contract for the upgrade works so that construction can start as soon as possible.”
