A busy Sebastopol intersection will become the first of its kind in Ballarat to feature a new safety-boosting design as part of an Andrews Labor Government investment.

Overhauling some of the city’s most notorious traffic chokepoints, the works to upgrade the intersection of Hertford and Albert streets will incorporate a raised safety platform to improve safety for all road users.

New traffic lights, safer pedestrian crossing points and dedicated turn lanes are also being installed at the intersection, which is currently used by 11,000 vehicles per day – a figure expected to increase by 20 per cent by 2041.

Raised safety platform are elevated sections of road designed to reduce vehicle speeds as they approach and travel through high-risk areas.

The platforms are similar to speed humps but involve raising an entire intersection at the entrance and departure points through a gentle increase in gradient to ensure vehicles maintain a safe speed until they have passed through.

New designs released by Regional Roads Victoria show that the entire centre of the intersection with traffic lights will be raised, ensuring that drivers enter and exit at a safer speed. Construction on the platform is expected to begin later this year.

These safety platforms have been installed at busy intersections in Melbourne to improve safety, including in Epping and Thomastown, while a platform has also been installed at an intersection in Belmont, near Geelong.

The works are part of the $60.8 million Keeping Ballarat Moving package – a major investment in easing congestion and boosting safety at some of Ballarat’s most notorious traffic hotspots.

For more information about these works and plans of our upgrades, visit regionalroads.vic.gov.au and search for ‘Keeping Ballarat Moving’.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Roads and Road Safety Ben Carroll

“This new raised safety platform will be the first of its kind in Ballarat, bringing tactics normally reserved for metropolitan roads to this ever-growing region.”

“The upgrade will improve pedestrian safety by slowing vehicles down on the approach to the Hertford and Albert Street intersection.”

Quote attributable to Member for Buninyong Michaela Settle

“The platform is one of a number of safety improvements at the intersection, with new traffic lights, safer pedestrian crossing points and dedicated turn lanes also being installed to make it easier for everyone to navigate the area.”

Quote attributable to Member for Wendouree Juliana Addison

“More cars are travelling on Ballarat roads than ever before, and more demand means a need for improved infrastructure, which is why we are enhancing safety at the area’s busiest intersections.”