Sunshine Motorway safety improvements works brought forward

I’m pleased that Transport Minister Scott Emerson has listened to my request for immediate action on road safety on the Sunshine Motorway between Mooloolaba and Peregian by fast-tracking upgrades to enable work to be completed this year.

Minister Scott Emerson allocated new funds of $510,000 for safety treatments in this year’s budget under the Safer Roads Sooner Program following a number of serious head-on crashes.

The extent of the works will include a one metre wide painted chevron centre median to provide greater separation between the travel lanes. This is an effective measure which has been proven to help address head-on crashes.

Driver fatigue or inattention have been major contributing factors in this high-crash zone and the audio tactile line marking between Marcoola and Coolum will alert drivers if they drift outside their lane and will help save lives.

The speed limit on the motorway at Mountain Creek has also been reduced from 100km/h to 90km/h on the approach to the Karawatha Drive interchange.

Ultimately the answer will be a major road duplication but in the meantime these simple safety measures will dramatically improve driver compliance and road safety.