Truckies slam roundabout

Albany truckies have labelled the town’s biggest roundabout as an accident waiting to happen and are calling on the State Government to put more money into regional roads.

At a transport forum organised by the WA Nationals last week, heavy-haulage operators raised concerns about the five-way roundabout on Albany Highway, which intersects with Chester Pass Road, South Coast Highway, North Road and Hanrahan Road.

Kendenup Bulk Haulage’s Rod Stan-Bishop said it was only a matter of time until someone lost their life.

“I shut my eyes and I drive across because there are cars coming at you all the time,” he said.

Others at the forum raised concerns that tourists freaked out when they encountered a truck on the roundabout and dashed across.

Albany Nationals candidate Robert Sutton said he believed it was “only a matter of time”.

“It’s getting worse every month,” he said.

“When you have big trucks mixing with little cars ... there’s an area of conflict.”

Suggestions from forum attendees included installing traffic lights, building a tunnel under the roundabout just for heavy haulage or an overpass.

A ring road around Albany connecting to the port was hoped to fix the problem, but only the first stage has been built.

Heavy haulage operators said it might take 15 years or more to finish building the second and third phases, and they needed a solution urgently. Other issues raised included a lack of passing lanes on Albany Highway and Chester Pass Road and the need for decent rest-stop areas.

Great Southern traffic’s Sergeant Peter May said police were frustrated because drivers of trucks and smaller vehicles kept offending despite clear signage on the roundabout.

Transport Minister Troy Buswell said the State Government had spent $1 million on planning and had applied for Federal funding for the ring road project, but stages two and three were still in a planning phase.

Shadow transport minister Ken Travers blamed the Liberal Government for not moving quickly enough to finish the ring road.

He said WA Labor would spend $2 million planning the second stage of the ring road.

Labor has also committed to spend $9 million constructing passing lanes on Albany Highway between Mt Barker and Kojonup.

Neither party would commit to a completion date for the ring road project.