Horse riders in Wandin North can rest easy after a notorious faulty horse crossing on Warburton Highway has finally been repaired by the State Government.
The fix came after nearly two years of near misses and steadfast advocacy from local horse riders and politicians.
State Evelyn MP Bridget Vallence was critical of the State Government for its inaction after she initially called for a fix in February 2024.
“The broken horse crossing signal at the intersection of Warburton Highway, Quayle Road and Wallace Road was extremely dangerous for drivers, horse riders and pedestrians.
“For over 20 months I’ve raised this safety hazard with the government, and now I will monitor it closely to ensure the crossing signal has been fixed properly this time,” she said.
The horse crossing, located at the intersection of Warburton Highway, Quayle Road and Wallace Road, had caused a number of close calls as riders attempted to cross the busy road.
The stakes were raised in late October after horse rider Andrea Newstead and her friend were inches away from an oncoming car which had ignored attempts to slow down traffic.
“The traffic was backed up, someone didn’t want to wait. They ended up going around the traffic, and they almost hit me, I felt it brush past my knees. I was that close,” Ms Newstead said.
Ms Newstead and other horse riders were forced to put their lives on the line to help the high number of horse riders cross the road as they travelled to major equestrian facilities in Wandin North and Seville.
The Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) sent crews to repair the crossing in February 2024 and July 2025, but the signals stopped working soon after due to uncontrolled conditions affecting communication.
The horse crossing was broken due to a complex technology fault, which made it difficult for the DTP to give a timeframe for a fix.
Despite this, the DTP didn’t implement any temporary safety measures such as extra signage to warn oncoming traffic.
“We’ve repaired the horse crossing at Wandin North, with new signage and upgraded technology to ensure safer warning to oncoming drivers,” a DTP spokesperson said.
