Community
20 June, 2025
Speed reduction finally instated
AFTER a number of years of advocacy, the intersection of the Princes Highway and the Darlington-Camperdown Road has had its speed limit reduced along the highway.
Western District Newspapers has published multiple stories on residents calling for action, including in 2023 when Member for Western Victoria Bev McArthur threw her support behind residents.
The highway rests on a low-visibility corner, with the rail line running parallel to the highway between turnoffs to both Castle Carey Road, the most direct route to and from Mortlake, and Old Geelong Road, which bypasses Camperdown for traffic flowing to and from Ballarat.
The nature of the roads create a choke point for four major flowthroughs of traffic coalescing to an intersection on a winding 100-kilometre highway.
Now, there are 80km/h signs before the winding bend – the signs were sighted on Wednesday, with Corangamite Shire Council Central Ward councillor Laurie Hickey pleased with the recent action.
“The Gnotuk intersection with the Darlington road has been a very risky intersection for many years, and anybody who uses it frequently would know how dangerous it is,” he said.
“We have been campaigning for some time and met with DTP (Department of Transport and Planning) officers earlier this year and explained our case.
“It is fantastic to see there has been some action taken and it is now reduced to 80km/h – it’ll make entering the highway a lot safer.
“It’s great to see this finally being done.”
Cr Hickey said works were also planned for the arterial roads at the intersection, but nothing is finalised at this stage.
“There have been a few accidents that have happened here – fortunately, we have avoided fatalities for a long time,” he said.
“However, it is a considerably risky area and quite dangerous for anybody using it.
“It has been a long process to get it done, so we’re very grateful it has happened.
“This was years in the making.”
Read More: Camperdown, local