Highway hold-up on Black Spur

CONSTRUCTION of a $50 million realignment of the South Gippsland Highway near Koonwarra has been delayed by studies of trees and Indigenous artefacts.
On-ground works on the Black Spur realignment between Koonwarra and Meeniyan will now not start until next summer – six months behind schedule.
VicRoads officers updated South Gippsland Shire Council about the project last Wednesday and said surveys had found Indigenous artefacts of at least 1000 years old, including stone artefacts, stone hearths and clay balls, as well as railway artefacts.
VicRoads will submit a cultural management plan to Aboriginal Victoria for approval and there are likely to be ‘no go’ zones as part of the project.
The initial project area impacted 347 Strzelecki Gum trees and the realignment has been redesigned to reduce the impact to 180 gums. An additional 4000 Strzelecki Gums will be planted.
VicRoads is awaiting feedback from the Department of Environment and Energy about the impact of the project on the gums and also the native fish, the Australian grayling in the Tarwin River.
Construction is unlikely to disturb dinosaur fossil beds but VicRoads is working with Museum Victoria to avoid hitting potential fossil sites.
VicRoads project delivery manager David Gellion said, “Most of the fossil beds push back into freehold land, so away from the highway.”
Tenders for construction will now be awarded mid to late this year, with onground works to start this summer and take three years to complete.
The highway is being realigned as the existing stretch of highway is winding and has a high crash rate, with 16 casualty crashes between 2012 and 2017 – eight times the state average.
The highway carries 4000 cars a day, with a growth rate of two percent, and 1000 heavy vehicles a day, growing at four percent.
The nine tight curves force traffic to slow to 65km/h, delaying freight and increasing travel times for commuters and tourists.
The project has been in the pipeline since 1997-98, when government funding of $500,000 for planning investigation was allocated.
The realignment will construct a new section of highway between Old Koonwarra-Meeniyan Road and Minns Road to reduce the length of highway from 3.4km to 2.3km, by taking the highway east of the Great Southern Rail Trail.
Two bridges will be built over the Tarwin River, and intersections will be upgraded at Caithness and Minns roads.
Safety barriers will be installed, including centreline wire rope barriers for a third of the realignment.
Mayor Cr Lorraine Brunt said, “Wire rope barriers are saving lives and we have to do what we can to cut this road toll. There will always be human error.”
The rail trail will be realigned at the second river crossing

Project update: South Gippsland Shire Councillor Alyson Skinner discusses the Black Spur realignment with VicRoads project delivery manager David Gellion in the council chambers, Leongatha, last Wednesday.

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Posted by Tayla Kershaw on Feb 27 2018. Filed under Featured, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry