It's an intersection that is too easy to miss. But anybody who has driven the Axedale-Toolleen road away from Bendigo, knows that the intersection with the Northern Highway can come at you fast.
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Especially if you’re not paying attention.
The road narrows to little more than one lane heading into the intersection and you think you’re in the middle of nowhere.
But you’re not.
Suddenly the distinctive shape of the Toolleen pub looms to your right and you’re on the edge of the Northern Highway.
You don’t have to be speeding to miss the intersection.
A moment’s inattention and you’re in the middle of a main feeder road taking people out of Heathcote and up country, or heading back in Melbourne through the towns that line the highway.
Read more: Two crashes in nine days: enough is enough
At certain times of the day there’s a lot of traffic moving on the highway – even more so on public holidays.
It’s a little harder to speed through it from the other side: the Cornella-Toolleen Road. But if you’ve come down from Chinaman’s Bend you’ve likely picked up speed, maybe thought it’s just a sleepy hamlet and then, suddenly, there’s the pub (again) and the highway.
The publican and staff at the Toolleen Hotel said plenty of cars have missed the stop signs and barrelled through the intersection. The debris scattered there - often shattered glass - is evidence of the fender benders.
They want the speed limit dropped by 20 km/h to 60 km/h and rumble strips installed to prevent drivers plowing through the intersection.
Rumble strips are a good idea one. If you’re not fully paying attention they will alert you to something to watch out for – that you’re no longer on a country road (apparently) to nowhere.
A reduction in speed would also make it safer for the patrons of the pub/general store, the travellers who stop at the reserve for a break, those using the hall, school bus drop-offs and other road users. Toolleen is a growing destination – the wineries are booming. Both visitors and the community deserve safe roads.
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