Upgrades under $210m VIC Safer Local Roads & Streets Program begin

The Victorian Government is working with local councils to deliver vital upgrades to local roads over the next three years to make roads and streets safer for communities. 

Works funded under the $210 million Safer Local Roads and Streets Program is now underway, and it is helping councils identify, plan and deliver projects that will help keep drivers, cyclists and pedestrians safe. 

Approximately $2 million will be allocated to each of the 79 councils across Victoria to provide a wide range of road safety improvements by 30 June 2027. Works will include the construction of new raised crossings as well as upgrades to kerbs, intersections, roundabouts and pedestrian islands. 

“Working alongside Victoria’s councils, we’re delivering important upgrades on local roads today, so our communities are safer into the future,” Minister for Roads and Road Safety Melissa Horne said. 

“As part of Victoria’s Road Safety Strategy, we’re partnering with local government and communities to reduce trauma on Victorian roads and streets including those around our homes, schools and workplaces,” Head of Road Safety Victoria Marcelo Vidales said. 

“This program represents a collaborative approach to addressing road safety concerns across our state; working together towards a safe environment for all road users,” Transport Accident Commission CEO Tracey Slatter said. 

The City of Greater Geelong has already delivered the first of the program’s projects in Clifton Springs. It involved the installation of a new roundabout and raised pedestrian crossing last month. 

In November, works will commence in Brimbank to build new speed humps across three local roads to encourage motorists to slow down along the 1.5-kilometre stretch of straight road. 

The Safer Local Roads and Streets Program is backed by the State Government’s 2030 Road Safety Strategy targets. This strategy aims to halve road deaths, reduce serious injury and ultimately achieve zero trauma by 2050. 

Local government authorities own and operate about 87 per cent of the State’s roads, and each year about 40 per cent of road trauma occurs on council-managed roads. 

Source: Premier of Victoria – Media Centre; Infrastructure Magazine; VIC Transport Accident Commission; Victorian Government – Safe Local Roads and Streets Program