Flexible barriers to prevent head-on crashes will be rolled out between Baan Baa and Turrawan as part of ongoing upgrades on the Kamilaroi Highway.
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Member of the Legislative Council Sam Farraway said flexible safety barriers reduce the severity of head-on crashes by up to 95 per cent, helping save lives on the road.
"This 17-kilometre stretch of highway between Baan Baa and Turrawan recorded 18 crashes between July 2012 and October 2019, with a large proportion of these involving vehicles crossing the centre line of the Kamilaroi Highway," Mr Farraway said.
"Our aim is to reduce the number of fatalities and serious injuries on country roads by increasing the separation of oncoming vehicles, alerting drivers when they leave a lane and providing a more forgiving environment for road users."
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Other safety measures of the state government's $26.4 million safety upgrade include:
- An offline school bus turning bay near the Turrawan Road intersection to improve safety for school children and other travellers (now complete)
- Addition of dual overtaking lanes (planned for completion June 2022)
- 2.5 metre wide sealed shoulder providing more room for vehicles to recover whilst remaining on a sealed surface (ongoing)
- Rumble strips on centre and outside lines to reduce the likelihood of head-on crashes and run-off road crashes (ongoing)
- Widened clear zone on roadside to improve visibility and reduce run off road into an object crashes
- Raised retroflective pavement markers to improve delineation
Mr Farraway said the safety measures would dramatically reduce crashes on this section of the road.
"In addition to the safety barriers, rumble strips reduce the likelihood of vehicles departing lanes by up to 25 per cent, while wide centrelines decrease the risk of head on crashes by up to 50 per cent," he said.
Installation of the flexible safety barriers on the highway will take place from Monday, 30 November for three weeks. About 40 jobs are being supported by the current stage of work.
As part of the project, tree removal will also take place to improve sight distance for motorists and remove crash hazards near travel lanes. Transport for NSW has undertaken an environment assessment regarding the impacts of these works and will be planting new trees to offset those being removed.
Work will be carried out from 7am to 6pm on weekdays and will be complete by 18 December, weather permitting.
Traffic control and speed reductions of 40km/h will be in place for the duration of work.
For more information about the Baan Baa and Turrawan upgrade, visit https://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/projects/saving-lives-on-country-roads
