Sunshine Avenue Safety Improvements, Sage Avenue to Old Calder Highway

Sunshine Avenue in Keilor will be made safer as part of Australian Government’s investment into the Road Safety Program, being delivered in partnership with the Victorian Government.

Project update - December 2022

We’re installing safety barriers on Sunshine Avenue between St Albans and Keilor to prevent run-off-road and head-on crashes.

Crews are approaching the final stage of works to install  safety barriers on Sunshine Avenue.

To minimise disruption during the busy holiday season, construction on this project will pause on 22 December 2022 and crews will be back onsite on 9 January 2023. 

During this time, the speed limit on Sunshine Avenue will return to the posted speed limit. Please continue to obey existing signage and drive safely.

Underlying rock and utility services found along the road reserves has made barrier installation challenging for crews and has caused unexpected construction delays. 

The project is expected to be completed in early 2023.

What this means for you

From 9 January 2023, crews will carry out barrier installation works on Mondays to Fridays, from 7am to 8pm and Saturdays from 7am to 3pm.

During works, road users can expect the following disruptions: 

• a reduced speed of 40km/h through the work site during construction hours, to protect both workers and drivers
• a reduced speed of 60km/h after hours to protect road users.  

Road users can expect a five-minute travel delay on Sunshine Avenue during these works. Crews will aim to keep two-way traffic where possible and access to properties from Sunshine Avenue will be kept open.

If you’re travelling through the area, keep an eye out for changed traffic conditions.

More Trees for A Cooler, Greener West 

We’ve partnered with DELWP and Brimbank City Council to plant over 400 mature trees along Sunshine Avenue between Old Calder Highway and Sage Avenue.

Communities living along Sunshine Avenue will benefit from more tree canopy cover and greener spaces, thanks to the Victorian Government’s $5 million More Trees for a Cooler, Greener West Program.

Melbourne’s west region currently has the lowest tree canopy cover in Melbourne and the More Trees for a Cooler, Greener West Program will see more trees planted in Melbourne’s west over the next two years.

In order to safely install safety barriers on the road, a very limited number of existing trees will be removed to allow for the safe installation of safety barriers.

In these instances, we have investigated all suitable alternatives to tree removal, balancing this with the critical need to improve safety for the community and road users.

The Department of Transport continues to look for ways to improve green spaces along arterial roads where possible while creating better connections for Victorians, as part of our ongoing commitment to supporting greener communities and improving environmental sustainability.

Revegetation on Sunshine Avenue is an important part of this project and our commitment to making a positive environmental impact, and will ensure the road will have more trees and shrubs overall as a result of this project.

For more information about the More Trees for A Cooler, Greener West Program, visit the DELWP website here.

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What we're doing

To improve safety and reduce the risk of head-on and run-off-road crashes, we’re installing safety barriers along the left-hand side and centre median of the Sunshine Avenue, between Sage Avenue and Old Calder Highway. By installing these barriers, we’re creating a continuous safer journey for people traveling along this route.

Mistakes happen, which as humans we can’t always avoid. What we can do is build more forgiving road infrastructure so that when a mistake does happen on the road, it doesn’t cost a life.

Infrastructure plays a vital role in preventing serious crashes. It also helps to reduce the severity of crashes when they’re unavoidable. 

Road safety infrastructure such as safety barriers, wide centreline treatments and rumble strips help prevent the most common crash types, head-on and run-off-road collisions, which in 2015 were responsible for 40 per cent of Victoria’s road deaths and serious injuries.

Background

Sunshine Avenue is a high-speed, high-volume road in Victoria’s metropolitan north west region, linking suburban Melbourne to the CBD.

Between January 2015 and December 2020, a staggering 52 crashes occurred on Sunshine Avenue between Sage Avenue and Old Calder Highway and twenty-two crashes caused serious injury. Tragically two people lost their lives. 

Sunshine Avenue will be made safer as part of the Australian Government’s investment into the Road Safety Program, being delivered in partnership with the Victorian Government.

The program builds on the Australian and Victorian Governments’ existing funding and initiatives to improve road safety in Victoria, including $105.7 million through the Targeted Road Safety Works Program, as part of the infrastructure stimulus package in June 2020.

Get in touch

For more information about this project, please get in touch.

Email: [email protected]