General News
17 August, 2023
Roads going half potty - they say blame the floods
UPDATE: Pot holes in Brooke Street have now been filled. EARLIER REGIONAL Roads Victoria maintenance crews will make inspection of the crumbling Calder Highway at Inglewood a priority. Large pot holes, one up to half a metre wide and several...
UPDATE: Pot holes in Brooke Street have now been filled.
EARLIER
REGIONAL Roads Victoria maintenance crews will make inspection of the crumbling Calder Highway at Inglewood a priority.
Large pot holes, one up to half a metre wide and several centimetres deep, have appeared in Brooke Street in the past fortnight.
Department of Transport and Planning was alerted to the condition of the highway last Friday.
It comes as potholes and deteriorating road surfaces at Bridgewater and along the Loddon Valley Highway at Serpentine have raised concerns with motorists.
A department spokesperson said on Tuesday: “Last year the Inglewood area experienced the wettest year on record.
“This unprecedented level of rainfall caused incredible levels of damage to our roads and we’re still seeing new potholes open up months after the peak of the floods due to the amount of water left sitting under the surface.
“We’re getting on with repairing that damage, with $770 million set to be spent on maintaining our road assets and flood recovery during 2023-2024 and $2.8 billion over 10 years announced as part of the Victorian Budget.”
The spokesperson said: “Incredible levels of rainfall across Victoria in the past two years ... caused a huge amount of damage to our roads.
“Our experts are finalising a program of works that will repair hundreds of kilometres of our state’s roads, keeping drivers and freight on the move across Victoria.
“In order to carry out these vital repairs, we need to wait for drier, warmer conditions – delivering this type of work when conditions are cold and wet means we risk the repairs not delivering a long-term solution.
“Our crews are continuing to monitor every single kilometre of our arterial road network on a regular basis, delivering short-term repairs where needed and planning for long-term solutions.”