Regional Roads Victoria (RRV) and the State Roads Minister have failed to answer basic questions on the installation of the road barriers between Sale and Bairnsdale.

Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, raised several points in an RRV response to constituent enquiries, where the installation appeared to not be in line with its own guidelines.

“As an example, I questioned a comment in a letter from RRV in relation to the width of the emergency lane that said: ‘A width of 3.0m allows a passenger vehicle to stop clear of the traffic lanes’,” Mr Bull said.

“However, the State’s standards in relation to safety barrier offsets, state: ‘every effort should be made to achieve the desired offset of 4.0 metres as it allows broken down vehicles to pull over clear of traffic lanes and provide space for maintenance vehicles’.”

Mr Bull asked for an explanation as to why the two statements are contradictory, and should they not be abiding by the VicRoads standard in Victoria and making every effort to achieve the 4m, which has not occurred.

“A second example is that I queried another comment from RRV that said: ‘A width of 3m allows a truck to stop clear of the traffic lanes’.

“I provided photos proving three metres does not allow a truck to stop clear of traffic lanes and asked for an explanation,” Mr Bull said.

“The response to the questions (a copy of which has been provided to this media outlet) do not even touch on these matters and simply give an overview of the program.

“This is just another case of the Minister not answering genuine concerns from the people of this region and it can only be for one of two reasons – either there is no reasonable answer, or there is an unwillingness to answer.”

Mr Bull has also asked the Minister for a review of heavy vehicle accidents after a spate of recent accidents that many drivers say is due to the rough and uneven road surface.

IMAGE: Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, is still waiting for an answer as to why a four-metre wide safety barrier offset hasn’t been provided between Stratford and Bairnsdale. (PS)