General News
12 October, 2023
MP names top 10 worst roads in Parliament
MEMBER for Western Victoria Bev McArthur has called for an urgent commitment from the Victorian Government to repair the top 10 worst roads in Western Victoria – which includes one dilapidated road close to home.
MEMBER for Western Victoria Bev McArthur has called for an urgent commitment from the Victorian Government to repair the top 10 worst roads in Western Victoria – which includes one dilapidated road close to home.
Mrs McArthur raised the adjournment matter with Minister for Roads and Road Safety Melissa Horne last week in Parliament.
She said there was an “ever-growing extensive list of dangerous roads” in Western Victoria.
“Given the minister to date has failed to address the serious deterioration and unsafe conditions around roads, I thought I would give her a list of the top 10 worst roads in Western Victoria,” Mrs McArthur said.
Included among the top 10 worst roads was Mackinnons Bridge Road, running from the Princes Highway outside Terang through to Noorat.
“By all means the list does not cover all roads that need repairing and actually rebuilding – there are many more,” Mrs McArthur said.
“I recently mentioned (to Parliament) Darlington Road – let us add that as number 11 – and how the government has reduced the speed limit to 80 kilometres an hour over several kilometres to
compensate for the mammoth amount of potholes that would wreck cars if they travelled at the usual speed.
“The government’s solution to rotten roads in my electorate is simply to lower the speed limit on our country byways and highways rather than properly fixing the problem.
“I have no doubt we will be forced to drive at 40 kilometres an hour on our country roads soon.”
Mrs McArthur urged the government to act on “competent and diligent” road maintenance and upgrades as opposed to “haphazardly patching parts of the roads only to be washed away as soon as there is a bit of rain.
“The shoulders of roads must be properly built, roadside vegetation responsibly cleared and proper drainage maintained,” she said.
“How else will those inside the tram tracks receive the fresh produce to keep them fed while delivery trucks drive at delayed speeds without blowing a tyre?
“There are hundreds of kilometres of roads in Western Victoria that are in need of repair or rebuilding, so the action I seek from the minister is to urgently commit to these top ten – now 11 – worst roads in Western Victoria.”