The Warrnambool City Council will leverage Australian Government funding to help renew the ageing road surface and roundabout at the Kepler and Lava street intersection while improving safety for motorists, bike riders and pedestrians.
Work will begin from Monday May 13 and is expected to be finished by the end of July.
This upgrade will include the installation of pedestrian priority crossings (zebra crossings) as well as a larger roundabout, wider pedestrian refuges, footpath renewal, drainage upgrades, new lighting as well as a completely rebuilt road surface.
Warrnambool Mayor Ben Blain thanked the Australian Government for contributing $400,000 to the project via Black Spot funding.
“The road surface and the roundabout at this intersection are about 40 years old, so they are due to be replaced. If you look at them, you can see cracks throughout, and the intersection doesn’t meet the standard we expect of our city centre,” he said.
“The intersection also has a crash history, and that’s how we have been able to secure Australian Government funding to improve safety.
“This also brings this intersection in line with those at Kepler and Koroit as well as at Kepler and Timor, as far as having the larger roundabout and the zebra crossings.”
To help minimise the impact, work will aim to be carried out in two halves, with the northern side of the roundabout to be worked on first, followed by the southern side. This will allow traffic to travel east and west along Lava Street under the direction of traffic controllers for the majority of the project.
North and southbound traffic will, however, not be able to proceed through Kepler Street at times, with redirection west or east on Lava Street.
After hours Council intends to reopen the roundabout under reduced speed in each direction where safe to do so.
Building entrances will remain accessible. Pedestrian access through the intersection will be maintained and there will be very minor impacts on parking.
“I’d like to thank everyone in advance for their patience while this work is carried out,” Cr Blain said.
“Obviously there’s never an ideal time for a project like this, but efforts are being made to keep traffic flowing as much as possible.”
The $650,000 project is funded by the Australian Government ($400,000) and the Warrnambool City Council ($250,000).
