Tweed Shire Council says it is still waiting to hear whether it has received Black Spot funding it applied for 11 months ago for a section of Tweed Valley Way where a driver was killed in a head-on crash on Wednesday.
It occurred just two years after another fatal accident on the same stretch of road.
The council plans to separate the north- and south-bound sections of the road by a metal cable.
The council’s roads manager and Danny Rose said that ‘like many in the community’ he was ‘rocked by this week’s fatality on Tweed Valley Way near Tumbulgum’ stressing the council still ‘awaits formal notification whether it has secured Black Spot funding to make this section of road safer.’
‘We have not been advised of the facts of Wednesday’s fatal accident as that is a matter for police and the coroner but we have been working on a project to extend a wire rope median along Tweed Valley Way where this fatality occurred,’ said.
‘We applied for funding under the federal government’s Black Spot Programme last July and are hopeful of an announcement from the government in the next few weeks.
‘While this is of no comfort to the families of the deceased and injured men, this project would provide physical separation of the north- and south-bound lanes on this section of road. This is the most effective safety treatment for this kind of crash as demonstrated by the success of the existing wire rope median further north on Tweed Valley Way.
‘While we wait for a letter from the government, we are working on the design of the wire rope median.
‘Regrettably, Council has to work within the limits of its budget and resources to try and reduce the risk of crashes on our road network so we do rely on external grant funds. But if and when we are notified that these Black Spot funds are ours, we will begin work on this much-needed safety improvement.
‘Our application recognised previous head-on crashes on this section of road and cited the fatality that occurred here in July 2015.’
Speed limits on roads in the shire are set by Roads and Maritime Safety.
