Thursday, 1 September 2022

Eildon electorate roads

Ms McLEISH (Eildon) (17:17): (6534) My matter again is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, and the action I seek is for the minister to ensure serious roadworks, such as resurfacing, take place on the Melba Highway to repair recurring potholes and crumbling surfaces. The communities who travel from Yarra Glen to Yea and then on to Mansfield want repairs that last more than a couple of years. I am contacted on a daily basis through Facebook, through emails and through people ringing the office or speaking to me on the street about the deplorable condition of the Melba Highway. I am sure that the current condition of the highway does not comply with the Road Management Act 2004 and the Department of Transport’s Road Management Plan. The necessary action has not been taken to warn the public of the risk to road users of excessive bitumen failures and ongoing surface issues.

I want to just mention a few of the comments and things that have been brought to my attention. Wally from Yea called my office to say he damaged his car after hitting a large pothole near Devlins Bridge, blowing out his tyre and requiring repairs costing $2000.

Peta said:

My son’s girlfriend who is a P player got her tyre destroyed on Wednesday night going over one of the many …

potholes.

Everyone is driving … dangerously trying to dodge the pot holes including myself.

Jennifer said:

I hit a pot hole coming to Yea on Melba July 14th … No car for 9 days $4100 later all fixed

Ashleigh said they had a truck behind them, and the truck swerved to dodge potholes. They saw:

… a car ditched on the side of the road with a flat … one can guess what happened to that.

Erin said:

I grew up in Dixon’s Creek and have travelled that road soooo many times. I’ve never seen it so bad. Very very dangerous! I can’t believe the state of it.

Other comments include:

Very scary road to drive. The signs should read “Bloody big potholes ahead”

Another said:

The Melba Highway between Yarra Glen and Yea is now so bad it must be close to being closed.

Another one said:

My husband and I travelled on the roads over the weekend, and we were stunned … cars swerving to the wrong side of the road to avoid potholes.

Someone else said:

I counted 68 bad spots from Yea to Glenburn

Also Hwy from Yea to Yarck is a shocker

They must have run out of signs to put up.

I drive that road myself very regularly; it has to be one of the worst in the state. The government has neglected it time and time again. The repairs that are made do not last. We have had sections that have fallen to bits immediately. If there is water under the roads and it needs to be fixed at that level, that needs to be done. You cannot just keep stuffing gravel in potholes and thinking that is going to have a long-lasting effect, because it is not. It is dangerous. We have had a number of fatalities on that road—one only a couple of weeks ago in an area of 40 kilometres, which is in a 100-kilometre zone area. They have had to go to 40 kilometres in several spots.