$316,000 For Two Road Black Spots To Be Fixed In Wide Bay

I am pleased to announce the Rudd Labor Government will invest $316,000 to fix two dangerous black spots on local roads in the Federal electorate of Wide Bay.

Nationally, the funding for the Black Spots Program for 2008/09 has been almost tripled from $50 million to $144.7 million under the Government's Nation Building plan to support jobs.

Road accidents take a huge toll on families and our communities and the Black Spot program is a very important way to make a real difference to local roads.

The two projects which have been approved in Wide Bay are:

• $276,000 for the installation of traffic signals at the intersection of Mount Pleasant Road, John Street and Hilton Road in Gympie; and
• $40,000 for the installation of traffic calming islands at the intersection of Power Street, Ada Street and Berrie Street in Gympie.

These projects were recommended by a panel of independent road safety experts.

The Black Spot program has a proven track record of saving lives with an evaluation of the Black Spot program showing that it has prevented at least 32 fatalities and more than 1,500 serious injuries in its first three years.

It also returns around $14 for every $1 invested by reducing the number and cost of crashes.

The Rudd Labor Government has more than doubled Black Spots funding as part of our Nation Building and Economic Stimulus Strategy. This extra investment will support local jobs and safer roads for our community.

Anyone can suggest a location or a section of road for black spot funding using a nomination form that can be downloaded from www.nationbuildingprogram.gov.au