Hume Highway curve improvements at Kyeamba: review of environmental factors

The Kyeannba section of the Hume Highway was identified in the Hume Highway Strategic Planning Study (Connell Wagner, 2004) as a section requiring short-term safety improvements and ultimately duplication. This section of road has a series of three curves with the northern-most curve having a radius of 280m. The southern-most curve is located on a sharp crest and includes a climbing lane ending just beyond the crest. The recent accident history of the Kyeamba section of the Highway has prompted urgent action to establish short-term safety improvements in this area. The five-year accident history for the period 1998 — 2002 revealed that 12 accidents occurred at this section, 9 of which involved northbound vehicles losing control on the northern-most curve. Most recently in January 2004, a family of four people lost their lives in a single vehicle accident on the northern-most curve. This accident is now the subject of a Coronial enquiry. A meeting between the RTA and the Federal Department of Transport and Road Safety (DoTARS) on 14 July 2004 resulted in a commitment by both agencies to investigate options to improve the road safety of the northern-most curve.