Higher Productivity Freight Vehicles (HPFVs) have been granted increased access to Victoria’s road network.
Terry Mulder (Transport Minister) has stated that HPFVs could travel from Port Melbourne through West Gate to Princes Highway west to Geelong on sectors of the Western, Calder and Hume Freeways and sectors of the Westernport and Princes Highways.
30m B-doubles will be granted access to the Monash and West Gate Freeways including CityLink and EastLink. Restrictions such as a 90km/h speed limit, GPS tracking and 68.5 tonne weight limit will be enforced.
Importantly, a 30m B-double can transport two 40 foot containers. This additional capacity is anticipated to reduce road congestion and truck crashes while unlocking road freight productivity on Victorian roads.
Neil Chambers, CEO for the Victorian Transport Association (VTA) said, “Not only will this decision lower distribution costs, it will have a positive economic and job creation effect in the trailer and component manufacturing sector which is strong in Victoria.”
The Cubic Freight Network will consist of identified divided highways in regional areas and the B-double network in metropolitan Melbourne. HPFVs will have access to these routes.
VicRoads and transport operators will work collaboratively on “last mile” permit access on local roads with Local Governments.
“In meeting the Performance Based Standards (PBS), these vehicles will be among the safest on our roads with an anti-lock braking system (ABS) on all axles, roll stability control, low-speed turning capability, superior on-road tracking behaviour, as well as front, side and rear under-run protection”, added Mr Chambers.
