General News
9 October, 2022
Beattie blast on roads
GRASS was so high guideposts could not be seen on the Boort-Durham Ox road, Loddon Shire councillor Neil Beattie said on Monday,A week since launching into urgent business on the state of Regional Roads Victoria roadsides across the shire when...
GRASS was so high guideposts could not be seen on the Boort-Durham Ox road, Loddon Shire councillor Neil Beattie said on Monday,
A week since launching into urgent business on the state of Regional Roads Victoria roadsides across the shire when councillors had their monthly meeting, Cr Beattie had a blunt message: “Someone is going to get hurt.
”And along the Loddon Valley Highway all the way from Kerang to Bendigo, grass is a metre high,” he said.
“Not only is it potholes, now the shoulders of roads have not been maintained.
“The billions being spent on just one big project in Melbourne would fix all of regional Victoria’s roads.
“Rural Victoria has been completely neglected.”
Cr Beattie said Loddon Shire once had the contract to mow roadsides twice a year.
““They would be done in early spring and then a few months later where there had been growth,” he said.
“(Then) VicRoads deemed this too expensive, gave the work to a contractor and now it only gets done once. They haven’t even started in the Loddon Shire yet ... we had to stir them up last year.”
Cr Beattie said rains had created a magnificent season for growth but claimed there were no control measures in place to trackle the roadside problem.
And he was also critical of the lack of maintenance by Regional Roads Victoria across the region.
“Despite assurances 18 months ago, nothing has been done on the Durham Ox-Pyramid Hill road,” he said.
“They can blame the wet weather all they like but these problems have been a long time coming.”
Councillors last week backed Cr Beattie in his call for representations to Regional Roads Victoria for quick action reducing roadside growth ahead of the fire season.
Cr Beattie on Monday reiterated his frustrations with inaction
“It’s dangerous on so many roads and action is needed before it’s too late,” Cr Beattie said.