Revamped trailer exchange near the border of Victoria and South Australia has opened for business
December 14, 2011
A revamped trailer exchange along the Western Highway near the border of Victoria and South Australia has opened for business.
The relocation of the Nhill Trailer Exchange in western Victoria has been completed, along with upgrades giving it the capacity to handle three times as many trucks as before.
Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese says Nhill residents will no longer need to put up with drivers swapping trailers in their streets late at night or early in the morning due to the previous trailer exhange’s inadequacies.
“Put simply, the old facility, with its limited number of parking spaces, wasn’t coping with the growing demand being placed on it due to its strategic location along the Western Highway halfway between Melbourne and Adelaide,” Albanese says.
“Indeed, more than 1000 trucks a day already pass through this western Victorian town, with about a quarter of them needing to stop to take a break, check their loads or change trailers.
“Compared to the old facility’s 23 parking spots, the new one can accommodate up to 75 trucks at a time and is fitted out with modern toilet facilities and sheltered seating.”
The federal and Victorian governments each invested $5.7 million in the relocation and upgrade of the trailer exchange.
Victorian Roads Minister Terry Mulder says the area boasts several important environmental protection measures, including a triple-filter pollutant trap to help prevent contamination of the surroundings in the event of a spill.
“We’ve also re-vegetated nearby land with Black Box, Wallaby Grass and Buloke seedlings to help reverse the rapidly declining population of Growling Grass Frogs and create a habitat best able to support the critically endangered Sun Moth,” Mulder says.