Crash barrier dumped

By Dion Teasdale
DIXONS Creek residents are rejoicing after forcing VicRoads to remove a wire rope barrier which they say is dangerous.
In a back flip, VicRoads last week agreed to remove the barrier which was installed along the Melba Highway after residents living along Old Toolangi Road said it would only be a matter of time before someone was killed.
The 800-metre barrier was removed yesterday (Monday), leaving VicRoads facing accusations of mismanagement and wasting taxpayers money.
William Ludwell, an Old Toolangi Road resident, said he was delighted that VicRoads had agreed to remove the barrier after he raised the issue with the Mail last week.
“The way the barrier has been installed, right next to the road, means there is no room for traffic to overtake vehicles turning into Old Toolangi Road,” he said.
“On a major highway, where a large number of heavy vehicles travel at high speeds, we believed it would be inevitable that an accident or a fatality would result.”
Mr Ludwell said residents in the area had struggled to understand VicRoads’s reasoning for installing the barrier in the first place and were concerned safety issues were not addressed by the road authority earlier.
“This whole mess is ludicrous and it does leave you wondering about how VicRoads works,” he said.
“If a barrier was put in the wrong spot here, how many other places are there like this across the state and how much more taxpayers money is being wasted on these sorts of stuff-ups?
“It looks like VicRoads just didn’t do their homework. They could have avoided wasting taxpayers money if they had spoken to residents who could have told them this wasn’t going to work.”
Mr Ludwell said he was concerned that had residents not brought the issue to the attention of VicRoads, the danger to motorists could have been left.
Steve Brown, VicRoads Metro South East regional manager downplayed the issue.
“The short length of wire rope safety barrier in question was installed as part of a much larger contract,” he said.
“Removal of the barriers incurs a minimal cost and was the result of a road safety audit.”
Mr Brown said an inspection of the site found the barrier to be ‘unwarranted’ at the location.