Wandong residents have raised concerns over the repair of a local main road following a decision by the Victorian Government to hit pause on maintaining the State’s deteriorating roads.
The Kilmore-Epping Road at the South Mountain Road intersection in Wandong is one of many regional roads listed in the Government’s Roads in Poor Condition register, with locals demanding that VicRoads takes immediate action in repairing the dangerous slippery surface.
The section of road is currently marked with two illuminated ‘slow down’ signs on the north and south-bound lanes, in addition to a range of speed restriction signs along the road.
Local resident Kathryn Ricardo posted her concerns on social media recently, calling for action.
“If you are concerned and fed up about the slippery road condition on Epping-Kilmore Road near South Mountain Road, please call VicRoads and report it. I called them today. Hopefully the more reports we put through will result in this issue being fixed faster,” she said.
Another resident Sarah Birch said that she had contacted VicRoads and was told that the matter was ‘getting passed on to Department of Transport and Planning,’ and that they would ‘send people out to look at it.’
Many residents have stated that they have called VicRoads on countless occasions to report the lack of grip and the accidents that have occurred at the location.
Shadow Minister for Roads and Road Safety Danny O’Brien said while road surfaces across the state are already bad, the dramatic drop in basic maintenance will condemn Victorians to worse roads in the future.
“The Allan Labor Government is plunging our already crumbling roads into further disrepair, with a massive cut in the preventative maintenance program. Labor can’t manage money, and it is the Victorian motorist who is paying the price,” he said.
Mr O’Brien added that the drop in spending was symptomatic of the Government’s neglect of basic road maintenance while it wasted $40 billion on cost blowouts on mega-projects in the city.
Resident Sean Setter agreed in his social media post, saying that unfortunately, the Government does not service the northern area of Victoria.
“Labor does not service this area as we aren’t in (the Premier) Jacinta’s electorate. They’d rather do a big build that will get very little use at $200 billion, $150 billion over budget that they want us to pay for, all while getting a pay rise,” he said.
New data shows road resurfacing works have dropped to their lowest levels in more than five years. Government sources have also confirmed that almost 1200 Victorians lodged claims for damage caused by poor road conditions in the last financial year.
