Former Hindmarsh councillor Wendy Robins calls on VicRoads to fix street corner in Nhill after near misses

On Friday night a Volkswagen Golf smashed through the front window of Nhill Mitre 10 on Victoria Street.

“We have lots of incidents at that corner, apparently the car wasn’t going too fast and it went into that shop” Ms Robins said.

“I’ve heard lots of people say they’ve seen near misses.”

Ms Robins said temporary barriers had been put up at the corner.

“There’s an orange safety fence that VicRoads put there and its been up there for months. It’s been hit by trucks so often,” she said.

“I think VicRoads knows it needs repairing. It’s a shame that it’s the main highway so we need a detour.”

VicRoads had planned works at Nhill later this week but they were postponed after residents complained that the detour plans were unsafe.

Ms Robins said the residents were right to oppose the detour but the works needed to go ahead.

“It was criticised because it wasn’t safe. It’s up to VicRoads to choose a safer alternative,” she said.

“I’m not an expert, I just live in this town and I don’t want to see anyone get hurt.”

VicRoads announced the Nhill works and detour on November 10.

“In order to complete safety improvements in Nhill, all heavy vehicles will need to detour via Edenhope using the Wimmera Highway and Kaniva-Edenhope Road,” a VicRoads traffic alert stated. 

“This will add approximately one hour 45 minutes to your trip. This route has been chosen for the truck detour because the Wimmera Highway and Kaniva-Edenhope Road are designated truck routes, meaning a safer and smoother journey for drivers.” 

The plan was postponed 24 hours later after residents spoke out against the detour.

West Wimmera Shire Council mayor Bruce Meyer said at the time there were parts of Kaniva-Edenhope Road that had been damaged by heavy rainfall earlier this year.

VicRoads stated in November 11 it would reschedule the detour and roadworks in the next few weeks.