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Deputy mayor calls for action on Great Western Highway

Blue Mountains Deputy Mayor Mark Greenhill wants the state and federal governments to improve the Great Western Highway

By Ruza Zivkusic-Aftasi | February 3, 2012

Blue Mountains Deputy Mayor Mark Greenhill wants the state and federal governments to improve the Great Western Highway, which has been the scene of hundreds of truck crashes.

Council data claims more than 480 trucks have ended up in an accident in the Blue Mountains in the last five years. Thirteen trucks were involved in a fatal crash, which is 33 percent of all vehicles.

The risk of getting killed by a truck than a car is three times greater, according to the council’s data, which was released last year.

“I am calling on the state and federal representatives in our area to come together with council to look at strategies to increase safety for both drivers and residents,” Greenhill says.

While not proposing a ban on trucks in the area, Greenhill says more needs to be done to improve the state of the highway in the Blue Mountains.

“There’s a huge amount of roadwork being undertaken there, which has dramatically changed the condition of that road,” he says.

“You have parts of the road closed while other parts are being rebuilt; areas that are normally one way have been split into two and are incredibly narrow and there’s a speed incline.

“While road works are under way and the conditions as a result have deteriorated, the truck traffic is quite extensive due to the mines from the west of us, the timber cutting industry and a lot of freight heading from western NSW to the eastern seaboard.

“A number of the victims of these accidents have actually been truck drivers and I am worried about them as much as I am worried about the residents.”

Greenhill says he does not blame the transport industry for the crashes but is calling on all parties to work together to make the road safer.

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