General News
25 August, 2022
McArthur calls for road works
DARLINGTON Road has joined the list of country roads in the state to be “abandoned by the Victorian Labor Government”, according to Member for Western Victoria Bev McAthur.
DARLINGTON Road has joined the list of country roads in the state to be “abandoned by the Victorian Labor Government”, according to Member for Western Victoria Bev McAthur.
She claimed it was in a state of “dangerous disrepair” with deep potholes and broken surface resembling smashed glass.
The speed limit on 10 kilometres of the road, from Darcy’s Lane to Darlington, has recently been reduced from 100kms/hr to just 60kms/hr.
Mrs McArthur said VicRoads had confirmed it has no intention of fixing the section of road.
“The Corangamite Shire Council cannot believe VicRoads’ refusal to do the one job it is required to do: to make roads safe,” she said.
Mrs McArthur exposed the problem in the Victorian Parliament last week, asking the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Ben Carroll, to do something about the condition of the road.
“When will you recognise that cutting speed limits, instead of fixing roads, is an insult to regional Victorians who pay extortionate taxes and car registrations but get so little in return?” she asked.
Mrs McArthur claimed Corangamite Shire North Ward councillor Nick Cole has stood in puddles up to his ankles alongthe road.
“These are not puddles, they’re craters,” she said.
“A car that hits one of these potholes suffers expensive damage: but swerving to avoid these craters can potentially cause a fatal accident.
“Has it seriously come to the point in Daniel Andrews’ Victoria that motorists are left with two options: damage or chancing death?”
Darlington Road is a significant link road in the area.
It connects the two major Western Victorian road routes – the Hamilton and Princes Highways.
Mrs McArthur said the impact of the speed reduction has been immediate.
“School buses use the road twice a day and face longer journeys,” she said.
“CFA emergency response times will increase by eight minutes travelling to and from the shed.
“Trucks are now choosing to avoid the route and, instead, are hammering the secondary roads that Corangamite Shire ratepayers pay to maintain.
“It’s a double whammy: the road that the state is paid to look after is dangerous and avoided, forcing local roads to bear the burden of the state’s failures.”
Minister for Roads and Road Safety Ben Carroll said the government was investing $780 million toward maintaining and renewing Victoria’s arterial road network this financial year.
“Over the past four years we have averaged $813 million per year on road maintenance compared to an average of $493 million per year when the Coalition were last in office,” he said.
“Since 2014 we’ve rebuilt or resurfaced more than 10,400 kilometres of regional roads and more than 1900 kilometres of metropolitan roads to ensure their quality and safety.”
The speeds along Darlington-Camperdown Road have been reduced, while the Department looks to repair it as part of the 2022/23 road maintenance season, set to commence in the coming months.