Council welcomes Black Spot funds for fatal stretch

07 June 2017

$2.55m to make three Tweed roads safer

Council has welcomed Federal Government Black Spot Programme funding to install a wire rope median on Tweed Valley Way between the two exits to the village of Tumbulgum.

The funding announcement came late on Tuesday afternoon, a week after the latest fatality on the 800m stretch between the southern and northern exits on to Riverside Drive.

“We are very relieved to learn our application to make this section of road safer has been successful after this tragic accident,” said Tweed Mayor Cr Katie Milne.

“The wire rope median will provide physical separation of the northbound and southbound lanes behind Tumbulgum village and help prevent accidents like this in the future.”

Council has received $1.168 million to do the work, which includes widening the road shoulders so future maintenance of the wire rope median can be done without closing a traffic lane.

Council is fast-tracking the design of the wire rope median so construction can begin as soon as possible as all the Black Spot projects need to be completed by 1 July 2018 as a condition of funding.

A wire rope median installed further north on Tweed Valley Way has proved very successful in preventing head-on collisions.

Other Tweed road safety improvements to be funded under the 2017-2018 Black Spot Programme include:

• $752,772 to improve the road alignment and crossfall and install skid-resistant pavement and roadside barriers on Kyogle Road, in the section 700m north of Braeside Drive, Uki
• $301,662 to realign a curve, improve the road crossfall and upgrade pavement markers on Kyogle Road, just south of Braeside Drive, Uki, and
• $333,480 to realign a curve, improve the road crossfall and widen the road shoulder to allow 100m of guardrail and motorcycle underrun barrier to be installed on Numinbah Road, near Edwards Lane at Kynnumboon.

“Council could not undertake these much needed safety improvements without the assistance of the Federal Government’s Black Spot Programme, which we are particularly thankful for,” said Cr Milne.