The state government has completed works on a popular south-western freight route
The Victorian government is boosting safety along a key south-west freight route in Cobden by providing a vital connection for freight and tourism in the area.
Large sections of Lavers Hill-Cobden Road will be rebuilt to better connect the region while also adding safety measures to the road.
The government says crews have worked over the past few months to rebuild 3.7 kilometres of Lavers Hill-Cobden Road to make it one of the biggest maintenance upgrades in the south-west region.
The new surface that sits between Cobden and Jancourt East has been resealed and had its line marking completed along with recently installed safety barriers that will prevent run-off-road crashes.
The Victorian government says the $3.9 million pavement rehabilitation will benefit 1,000 daily motorists, particularly freight operators that make up 20 per cent of daily users of the route for access to farms and local markets.
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Now that safety upgrades have been completed, the 100 kilometres per hour speed limit has been reintroduced along the arterial route.
The government credits a $115 Inland Routes program as the reason for the works being done, as the program seeks to improve various connecting inland roads between the Great Ocean Road and the Princes Highway.
The program was announced at the 2020 state budget and has since improved the resilience of the Great Ocean Road, as the state government says this investment ensures the inland roads better support local freight operators in south-western Victoria.