Council’s Infrastructure director Warren Sharpe said several staff had undertaken auditor training in an effort to better assess issues on the local road network. 

He said range of road safety measures had been identified and put in place following the training. 

“Things from making sure roads are resurfaced at the right frequency. We have found that to be successful in reducing the number of crashes on the local road network. We have used a lot of recycled materials to widen shoulders and reduce drop offs,” he said. 

“Removing roadside hazards that are too close to roadways, like trees, so if people do get into trouble, they can recover from an out of control situation or not hit something.

“A very high percentage of crashes run off the road and hit something and we can make road networks much more forgiving by taking appropriate roadside measurers.” 

Not only did the road safety measures put in place throughout the Eurobodalla improve the roads, they made better provisions for road workers, Mr Sharpe said. 

“Simple thing like widening a shoulder so they can pull of the road, is very good for workers as well as the driving public,” he said. 

The Princes Highway and Cullendulla Drive intersection upgrade, which included widening the road surface, was an example of this.

The council contributed $385,400 to the project, while the NSW Government granted $688,204 under the fixing Country Roads program for road widening and culvert repairs at the location.

Mr Sharpe said the widening and sealing of the shoulder on the road meant drivers who made an error had a better chance of recovering without a crash. 

“If someone makes a small error and gets onto the shoulder, they are on a smooth surface and they can recover and we hopefully won’t have to hear about a fatal accident there,” Mr Sharpe said. 

“For all emergency services staff, council workers, and people who attend the scene, there is a personal trauma with having to deal with that.

“Council staff are often called as first responders to manage traffic at a crash scene and we are conscious of the impact these crashes have beyond the families involved. It goes through from the first responders, to the hospital staff.”