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Highway speed limit cut to improve safety

The speed limit on the Coalfields Highway will be cut as part of safety measures to improve the route

November 8, 2010

The speed limit along a stretch of the Coalfields Highway in Western Australia will be cut as part of measures to improve road safety.

Transport Minister Simon O’Brien says the route on the Roelands Hill section will lowered from 110km/h to 100km/h, bringing the section into line with the rest of the highway.

O’Brien has also announced a $1.5 million investment to delineate traffic lanes to better separate slow moving vehicles from faster motorists.

Main Roads WA will extend sealed shoulders to one metre and install audible edge lines.

Investigations will be carried out to determine the feasibility of electronic flashing signs to warn motorists of slow moving vehicles ahead.

Signage and lane markings are due to be completed by next week. While the shoulder works will be carried out next year, O’Brien says most of the work will be delivered by December.

O’Brien decided to inject funds into upgrading the road following a report from the Safe System Review group.

It says the road did not contribute to a double fatality earlier this year.

“However, the group did produce a number of recommendations for improving visibility and safety of the road environment through the section, which I have accepted and asked Main Roads WA to implement as soon as possible,” O’Brien says.

The Safe System Review Group includes WA Police, the Office of Road Safety, Main Roads WA and the Curtin-Monash Accident Research Centre (CMARC).

O’Brien’s announcement follows last week’s awarding of a $3 million contract to reconstruct more than 4km of the highway between Collie and Allanson.

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