Thursday, 23 February 2023

Bass Highway–Leongatha South-Outtrim Road safety, Leongatha South

Danny O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (17:16): (63) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, and the action I seek is for the minister to fund a safety upgrade of the intersection of the Bass Highway and Leongatha South-Outtrim Road at Leongatha South. This stretch of highway and the intersection itself have been the site of a number of accidents, including most recently only a couple of weeks ago. The intersection is a T-type intersection of both Leongatha South-Outtrim Road and the Bass Highway, and across the road is a local country road, Rougheads Road. For traffic coming to and from it is difficult to see looking towards Leongatha if you are coming out of the Outtrim road. There have been a number of accidents. The other issue is traffic turning right into the Outtrim road does not have a right-turning lane. There is a CFA shed and the old school on either side of the road, and there is an issue there with a small incline that makes it difficult for cars coming down the road to see. If one undertakes a quick search of ‘Bass Highway’ and ‘Leongatha South’ and ‘crash’, there are multiple reports of crashes over the last 10 or so years. The South Gippsland Sentinel-Times of 28 January, so just a couple of weeks ago, states:

Another serious crash on the highway at Leongatha South

On 22 January 2017:

Man killed in car crash on Bass Highway, Leongatha South

On 9 January this year:

Two people are in hospital after they were injured in a car crash in South Gippsland

Again that was on the Bass Highway. Going back to even 2013:

Two killed in Bass Hwy crash at Leongatha

This stretch of the highway, from Leongatha to Inverloch, whilst being largely straight and flat, is very narrow. There is not much of a verge, and it is a very busy stretch of road connecting South Gippsland with the coast and many people commuting between the two towns for work. This intersection does need an upgrade. I have spoken to some of the residents nearby. I understand Regional Roads Victoria does actually have a plan for realigning the intersection to make it safer, but it obviously needs funding. I call on the minister to investigate this as a matter of urgency and to ensure that there is funding provided in this year’s budget to address the dangerous intersection at Leongatha South on the Outtrim road.