Queensland completes safety improvements on Pacific Motorway

Australia's Queensland Government has completed a A$19.8m ($15.4m) project to install new road safety barriers and upgrade existing ones, delivering safety improvements to the Pacific Motorway (M1).

Improvement works involved installation of wire rope and guardrail safety barriers on the 45km road stretch between Logan and Palm Beach.

Queensland Main Roads and Road Safety Minister Mark Bailey said: "The M1 is a major transport route between Brisbane and the NSW border which caters for commuters, tourists and heavy vehicles, with traffic volumes growing with increasing development, improving road safety on this busy motorway is paramount for the Palaszczuk government.

"These additional safety barriers have been installed to reduce the risk and severity of crashes where vehicles run off the road or enter the median."

"To improve safety for all road users, these additional safety barriers have been installed on M1 shoulders and medians to reduce the risk and severity of crashes where vehicles run off the road or enter the median."

Bailey added that the project works were completed within two years.

The safety improvement project was funded under the Targeted Road Safety Programme, which was designed to provide cost-effective and high-benefit road safety engineering treatments, as well as address the safety issues identified on the state-controlled road network.

The 790km-long Pacific Highway is a major transport route along the central east coast of Australia. The majority of it is part of the country’s national route.