Member for Bendigo Lisa Chesters said the highway had several dangerous "black spots" that were prone to road accidents.

"I'm saddened but not surprised (about the accident)," she said.

"When you don't keep up with infrastructure this is what can occur."

Ms Chesters has met with members of the Calder Improvement Committee and has encouraged them to lobby the federal government for funding to upgrade the road network.

"It's not the first time we've had a fatality at that section of the Calder. We need to ensure the Calder is Freeway standard from Melbourne to Mildura."

Cr James Williams echoed Ms Chesters' concerns, saying an in increase in freight vehicles using the north of the highway posed safety risks to regular drivers.

He said said the committee, which he is a member of, had outlined three areas of particular concern about the Calder network, including at the intersection of Fogartys Gap Road, the Kyneton intersection and at Calder Park, in Melton on Melbourne's outskirts. 

He also said he would push for the Calder Alternate Highway to run from Lockwood to Bridgewater, bypassing around Marong.

Marong, Inglewood and Bridgewater were expected to have significant population increases in coming years, and an extension of the Calder Alternate was needed to cater to the increase in traffic, he said.

Buloke Shire councillor and committee chairman David Pollard said traffic on the Calder was expected to increase by three per cent each year.

Tuesday's incident involved a crash involving a B-double truck and car, that resulted in the death of a 40-year-old woman.

Police believe the collision happened after the 80-year-old driver travelling east on Bendigo-Maryborough Road failed to give way to the truck heading south on the Calder Alternate Highway.