VicRoads says it has no plans to upgrade local Victorian road carrying more than 150 trucks a day.
A council in Victoria’s south-west wants VicRoads to fix a local road which carries more than 150 trucks a day.
Corangamite Shire believes the Camperdown-Lismore Road needs urgent resurfacing as it carries large volumes of traffic that use it as a shortcut to Melbourne due to highway duplication works east of Winchelsea.
Councillor Wayne Oakes says the road is slippery and pot-holed.
“The roads have certainly deteriorated in the south-west in general and probably a lot has to do with the works being done on the Princes Highway because they’re duplicating that which is forcing a lot of trucks to take alternative routes,” Oakes says.
“Quite a lot of the area needs resurfacing altogether rather than just patched jobs because as soon as it rains or trucks travel across they break it up again.
“Residents often blame the council because for some reason they think it’s a council road.
“We are trying to pressure the State Government into spending a bit of money on our roads and getting them up to scratch because the south-west is $220 million dollars roughly behind the rest of the state when it comes to bringing them up to state average.”
VicRoads regional director William Tieppo says VicRoads has no plans to upgrade the road but inspects it fortnightly and applies interim treatments as required including filling in pot holes.
“Over the past few weeks there has been an increase in pot hole patching and minor road repairs due to the wet weather,” Tieppo says.
“In most cases, maintenance crews are able to carry out repairs quickly after a hazard is reported.
“There has been some very minor flooding on some of the roads south of Camperdown. This flooding has naturally dispersed without any action required by VicRoads; however crews have worked to remove debris and tree clearing as needed.”
Only one truck accident was reported in the area over the last five years, according to VicRoads.
Up to 600 vehicles use the road each day of which 25 per cent are heavy vehicles.
VicRoads is calling on drivers to obey weather conditions.
“We ask that drivers be patient, take extra care, leave plenty of room between you and the car in front, brake earlier and turn on your headlights if visibility is poor.”