Safety front of mind on Beechworth Road

ONE of Wangaratta’s most dangerous roads will continue to undergo inspections by government officials in an effort to improve safety, as police investigate a fatal crash at the site late last month. The life of a 48-year-old female from Sunbury was the latest lost on the Beechworth-Wangaratta Road on February 23, the road’s third fatal crash since 2011 and its fifth in the last 21 years, according to Department of Transport and Planning data. The driver was declared dead at the scene, while her passenger, a woman in her 60s, was airlifted to Melbourne before being upgraded to a stable condition, after their vehicle left the roadway and reportedly crashed into a tree west of Airey Lane around 2pm. Previously, a male pedestrian in his 60s was hit and killed by a car near the Boralma-Tarrawingee Road intersection in May 2013, while a male in his 80s was killed east of Corkhill Track when his vehicle crashed into a tree in September 2018, according to Transport Accident Commission (TAC) data. Some 55 crashes have also occurred along the roadway since 2003. The three fatal crashes on the road since 2011 make Beechworth-Wangaratta Road the fourth most-deadly in the rural city during that time frame, behind the Hume Freeway (7), Greta Road (5) and Snow Road (5). A Department of Transport and Planning spokesperson said works had been undertaken in recent times to improve the safety of the roadway, including the sealing of the road shoulders and the installation of guard rails. The most recent crash is believed to have occurred in an open section of the roadway without guard rails. The spokesperson said the department would continue to undertake regular inspections of the arterial road network in accordance with it road management plan. “Any death on our roads is a tragedy and our thoughts are with all those who have been impacted,” the spokesperson said. “We will work closely with Victoria Police in their investigations.” A police operation along the Hume Freeway between Glenrowan and Wodonga between Tuesday and Thursday this week will also aim to have a lasting impact on driver behaviour along the region’s other major arterials. Operation Hamilton is a cross-border initiative aimed at cutting down on dangerous road behaviours in the lead-up to an expected increase in tourist activity in the North East over the Labour Day long weekend.

Safety front of mind on Beechworth Road

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