MELBOURNE, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Victorian iconic Great Ocean Road is set for a major upgrade after it was damaged by a number of natural disasters in 2016.
The Victorian Government announced on Tuesday that 38 million U.S. dollars would be spent on urgent repairs and safety upgrades to the 243 km national heritage-listed road.
The road, which runs along Victoria's south-east coast, was significantly damaged by bushfires at Wye River in December 2015 and January 2016 as well as a number of serious landslides in September caused by higher than average rainfall for the year.
The upgrades for the popular tourist destination will be retainer walls, erosion prevention, rock fall netting, electronic traveller information signs, closed circuit television (CCTV) monitoring and real-time traffic counters.
Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews said the upgrades would ensure that communities along the road would stay connected during emergencies.
"We are pleased to be here to announce (38 million U.S. dollars), all new funding provided by the State Government," Andrews said on Tuesday.
"This will be put to the very best use in terms of rock netting, drainage, retaining walls, armour rocks to stop erosion from the sea into the base of the road."
"This is really important, the critical infrastructure that will keep the road open, keep the tourists coming, keep the jobs and the opportunities in beautiful coastal communities like this one."
Work on the Great Ocean Road will start at the end of January after the busy tourist period and is expected to take four years to complete.
A recent Victorian Government tourism strategy report revealed that 33 percent of the 530,000 annual visitors to Victoria from China visited the Great Ocean Road, making it the state's most prominent regional tourism attraction.
