RMG was engaged by Department of Transport and Planning (DoTP) to develop an Option Analysis for overtaking lanes on the Calder Highway. 

The Calder Highway is used by freight and commercial vehicles providing intrastate and interstate access to markets, air and sea terminals in Melbourne and the rural primary production areas of the Murray Valley and southern New South Wales. 

The Agriculture industries in the northern area of Victoria and southern New South Wales generate significant freight movements on the Calder Highway. The bridge crossing of the Murray River at Mildura continues to facilities the movement of produce and materials from the northern states to Melbourne.
 

Further, the Murray River at Mildura supports the irrigation of fertile lands for the vegetable and fruit industries, this generates significant localised heavy vehicle movements. The Calder Highway provides an important link for freight movement between southern New South Wales, northern Victoria and Melbourne. The traffic volume generated by heavy vehicles is significant, however is more consistent without the peaks and troughs of tourist related traffic. The efficiency of freight movements on the Calder Highway is however impacted by the significant volumes produced by tourist traffic. The Murray Basin Rail Project is expected to alleviate some of the traffic growth generated by the Agriculture Industry. 

In preparing the Option Analysis, RMG worked with DoTP to develop a matrix and criteria to assess various options against each other. In undertaking this work RMG developed TRAffic on Rural Roads (TRARR) model along with facilitating workshops so that the most appropriate option was chosen, enabling Regional Roads Victoria to make a substantiated case to the Victorian State Government and Australian Federal Government for funding of the overtaking lanes.