Stop signs have been installed at the Labuan Rd intersection.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Roadworks to improve the safety of the Murray Valley Hwy and Labuan Rd intersection near Strathmerton where five people died in one crash have been completed.
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The works completed by the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning focused on increasing visibility and awareness at the intersection to improve safety for road users.
Cobram’s Debbie Markey, 62, her dog Sophie and four farmworkers on international working holiday visas — Taiwan’s Pin-Yu Wang, 23, Hsin-Yu Chen, Zih-Yao Chen, 25, and Hong Kong’s Wai Yan Lam, 21 — all died in a crash at the intersection on April 20, 2023.
All five had been in a ute travelling west on the highway when a car driving north on Labuan Rd did not give way and hit the ute, pushing it into the path of a truck travelling east on the highway.
Some of the works that were completed include to improve the safety of the intersection include:
Removal of a rail embankment crest on Labuan Rd.
Installation of a splitter island, new kerbing and rumble strips on Labuan Rd.
Installation of electronic vehicle activated warning signs on the Goulburn Valley Hwy, Labuan Rd and Stokes Rd.
Sealing of the Stokes Rd leg of the intersection.
Installation of flag lighting.
A rail embankment crest has been removed.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Moira Shire Council chair administrator Graeme Emonson said the works were a really important step forward in addressing safety at the intersection, and had been a major priority for council and the community.
“We have been strongly advocating for improvements to the intersection following the tragic accident in 2023, which had a devastating impact on our community,” he said.
“We’re very pleased that the construction works have now been completed.”
Rumble strips have been installed leading up to the intersection.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Dr Emonson said council was also completing additional road improvements along a stretch of Labuan Rd between the Murray Valley Hwy and Sandmount Rd.
“These additional works will help further improve safety along rural roads and complement the recent significant upgrade at the Murray Valley Hwy intersection,” he said.
State Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell said she was pleased to see the significant safety upgrades completed at the notoriously dangerous intersection.
State Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell at the intersection before the rail embankment crest was removed.
“I fought hard to get funding allocated for this project, and I am proud to know that the work is now finished and the community will benefit from a safer intersection,” she said.
“I hope the new upgrades will make the intersection much safer for all road users.
“I will continue to monitor the site and speak to the local community to see if further works, like removing trees to improve road visibility, are necessary.”
The driver of the car that failed to give way in the 2023 crash, Christopher Dillon Joannidis, 31, was sentenced to five years and six months in prison, with three years to be served before he is able to be eligible for parole.
In March the Director of Public Prosecutions confirmed it was appealing the sentence on the basis that it was manifestly inadequate.
In October 2022, a coronial inquest into the two fatal crashes was put on hold until at least after the Joannidis court case was finalised.
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