PHOTO
In a move that blindsided many in the region, the 110 km/h speed limit on the Mitchell Highway between Dubbo and Wellington will be reduced to 100 km/h for the safety of road users.
Set to commence later this month, the new speed limit follows a speed zone review by Transport for NSW (TFNSW) on two sections of the highway – from Dubbo to Geurie and Geurie to Wellington – allegedly in response to "safety concerns" raised by road users and following the introduction of an updated speed zoning standard for NSW.
The news was not taken well by locals and elected representatives alike, the issue exploding on social media.
Cr Josh Black described the decision as a "speed zone reduction mess", declaring he had written to the Regional Transport and Roads Minister, Jenny Aitchison, asking for funding and construction of four new overtaking lanes in the identified zones between Dubbo and Wellington, as well as proper community consultation on the matter.
"I'll keep fighting for this," he added in a video on social media.
Dubbo MP Dugald Saunders also slammed the speed limit decision, indicating that TFNSW focusing purely on speed is shortsighted, and that what is needed is proper investment in the road.
“What people really want is proper investment to fix the condition of the road between Dubbo and Wellington, and more overtaking lanes," he said.
“It’s the reason I focused so heavily on this project previously and committed to building at least three overtaking lanes to improve the overall flow of traffic on this major highway. It’s what we did between Dubbo and Narromine, and it’s working very well.”
More than 170 people commented on the issue on the Dubbo Photo News Facebook page.
"How about actually fixing the road to reduce risk of accidents? Parts of it are like driving on a cheese grater," commented reader Jess Pease.
"Probably most of the accidents have occurred at the prolonged roadworks taking place [on the Mitchell Hwy]," reader Bill Hicks added.
Several readers also thought the move was about revenue raising from mobile speed cameras rather than safety.
What we can tell you is that the TFNSW speed zone review assessed a number of factors including location, crash history, road environment, the number of access points, road usage, traffic mix and traffic volumes.
“The speed zone review considered only the 110 km/h sections of highway between Dubbo and Wellington, with no change planned for the existing 50 km/h speed limit through Geurie," Executive Director Damien Pfeiffer said.
“The road environment is generally flat with good clearways at the edge of the road, but it is an undivided road with no physical separation between the opposing lanes of traffic.
“The review found that during the most recent five years of complete data there had been a higher-than-average number of crashes within the 110 km/h sections of highway, with 38 crashes resulting in 38 people being injured and, sadly, five people dying."
As a result of the review, the speed limit on sections of the Mitchell Hwy will reduce from 110 km/h to 100 km/h from Monday, June 22, as follows:
• From just north of Saxa Road, Wellington, to just south of The Old Road, Geurie (14.1km).
• From just north of Old Dubbo Road, Geurie, to just south of South Buninyong Road, Dubbo (20.7km).
“It is estimated these changes will add less than a minute to most motorists’ journeys between Dubbo and Wellington and will have no impact on heavy vehicles that are already operating under a 100 km/h speed limit,” Mr Pfeiffer concluded.
New signage will be installed to advise motorists of the changes.
