The State and Federal Governments have been warned that a failure to maintain the arterial road network across East Gippsland is putting lives at risk.
Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester says the poor condition of major roads is adding to the risk of accidents, and emergency services have reported a delay in response times.
“We have potholes like small craters on major roads particularly the Princes Highway and Monaro Highway with constant reports of damage to vehicles and unsafe driving conditions,” Mr Chester said.
“The failure by Labor Ministers at state and federal level to work together and maintain safe driving conditions is a disgrace.
“Even when money is available, like the $10 million I secured for the Mallacoota-Genoa Rd from the previous Coalition Government, we wait years and nothing has been done to actually improve the road surface.”
Mr Chester said the condition of local roads was now impacting emergency services with the Orbost and Mt Delegate Group of Fire Brigades writing to him to express their safety fears.
In the letter signed by Group Officers Ryan Findley and Ian Cole, the CFA volunteers highlighted the challenges facing their members.
“Over the past several years, there has been a significant decline in the quality and safety of the roads throughout our region,” the letter said.
“This decline in quality is now impacting emergency services organisations to deliver a timely and safe response. It is also causing undue wear and tear on appliances. Orbost and Mt Delegates groups have some of the oldest trucks in the fleet, with several single cab trucks aged well over 30 years old.
“Roads such as the Mallacoota Genoa Rd, Bonang Rd, Princess Hwy and Monaro Hwy have become increasingly difficult to navigate due to dangerously severe potholes, uneven surfaces, and deteriorating signage. Coming into a high transient tourist season, this increases the likelihood and severity of high speed, high impact collisions.
“Historically, the Victorian road network was superior to and the envy of New South Wales. Now, there is a discernible difference when you cross the border. The difference is not favourable. The degraded road surface along the Monaro and Princes Hwy’s from the border has deteriorated so much, causing the speed limit to be reduced in places to 40km.
“With the Bonang Rd now completely sealed, there has already been a noticeable increase in motorbikes using this road as a destination ride. With the lack of repairs, maintenance and safety railings, safety of all road users has been compromised.
“We understand that infrastructure maintenance is an ongoing challenge across regional Victoria, but the current state of the roads in East Gippsland has reached a critical point.
“Will the Minister accept a degree of responsibility for any fatal or serious injury collisions that occur on the Mallacoota-Genoa Road, Princes Highway, Bonang Highway and the Monaro Highways due to neglect on the Minister’s watch?”
Mr Chester said he had taken the CFA concerns directly to the Ministers to reinforce the concerns he had raised for the past two years.
“The roads are falling apart because the Labor Party doesn’t care about regional communities,” Mr Chester said.
“We are seeing billions of dollars wasted on gold-plated infrastructure in Melbourne with enormous cost blowouts and we can’t even get a decent road surface on our major roads.”
