NSW Centre for Road Safety General Manager, Marg Prendergast, has announced the Oxley Highway will receive a route safety review to see what improvements can be made to help reduce the road toll. Prendergast said route safety reviews are an effective way to address long stretches of a particular highway and develop a program of work to address the specific safety issues identified.
“The Oxley Highway is the backbone of the central west through major towns all the way to the eastern seaboard at Port Macquarie,” said Prendergast. “Reducing the road toll is our number one priority. Over the last five years, 15 people have been killed and 401 injured along the Oxley Highway.
“Six of those deaths occurred in 2012 alone. Safety can be improved and that’s why a route safety review will be undertaken.”
Route Safety Reviews form part of the NSW Safer Roads Program and are an important method in improving the safety of a particular stretch of road. A physical assessment of the road will be undertaken by road safety experts and following a review of any safety issues identified a program of safety work will be developed.
The review of the Oxley Highway will be carried out between the Pacific Highway at Port Macquarie and the junction with the Mitchell Highway at Nevertire. The total length of the review is approximately 508 kilometres. A key aspect of the review will be consultation with the local communities along that stretch of the Oxley.
“Local knowledge and experience will provide crucial information to the review team and help identify road user behaviour issues such as driver fatigue and speeding,” said Prendergast. “The information gathered from community sessions, combined with a thorough review by road safety experts will result in a road safety strategy to improve engineering and behavioural programs specific to the Oxley.”
Field inspections will investigate safety issues like:
- Fatality locations
- Curve delineation
- Narrow road shoulders
- Speed zones
- Heavy vehicle issues
- Major junction geometry and delineation
- Driver rest opportunities
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