Rumble strips are used to alert motorists as they veer away from their lane. Credit: Mugu-shisai.

Transport for New South Wales (NSW) in Australia has planned to deliver road infrastructure upgrades to improve the region’s road safety as a part of the A$822m ($548.2m) Safer Roads Program.

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Paul Toole stated that round three of the programme will deliver 383 projects over the next financial year, with an investment of A$258m ($172m).

Under the programme, around 230km of safety barriers will be installed. These will help absorb the impact of collisions, protecting passengers in the colliding vehicles.

The work will also install 2,150km of rumble strips to alert drivers as they move away from their lane. This is expected to reduce such crashes by around 25%.

In addition, 1,000km of wide centreline will be built, which is expected to reduce head-on crashes by 50% and run-off-road crashes by 25%.

The programme will also deliver 1,500 high-risk rural curve improvements and 100 urban projects for intersection improvement.

Toole said: “These are projects designed to save lives. We are committed to reducing the state’s road toll and the measures we are investing in will prevent the loss of more than 1,500 lives and serious injuries on our roads over 15 years.

“We know targeted projects can make a real difference to local communities in both the city and the bush. This investment will see A$217m injected into 285 regional projects through Saving Lives on Country Roads and A$41m into 98 projects through Liveable and Safe Urban Communities for metropolitan NSW.”

In January last year, NSW Government started fitting sound barriers near a busy section of Alfords Point Road to reduce noise disturbance for Menai residents.