Concerns about the quality of road repairs across Northern Victoria have been raised in State Parliament, with Member for Northern Victorian Region Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell calling on the State Government to hold contractors to account.
Ms Tyrrell has been a vocal advocate for improved maintenance of regional roads and last month urged constituents to contact her office with details of problem areas needing urgent attention.
Since then, she said, her office had been inundated with complaints.
“Almost as often as I hear from my constituents about damaged, neglected roads, I also hear about the unsatisfactory road repairs carried out by contractors employed by the State Government,” Ms Tyrrell told Parliament.
“I hear stories of these works crumbling, potholes reforming and rough surfaces reappearing within weeks, sometimes days, of so-called repairs being completed.”
At the most recent sitting, Ms Tyrrell highlighted three more problem roads in her electorate: Katamatite–Yarrawonga Road, Benalla–Yarrawonga Road and the Midland Highway south of Benalla to the Dobsons Road intersection.
She said sections of all three were littered with deep and dangerous potholes.
To improve the standard of repair work on regional roads, Ms Tyrrell called on Roads and Road Safety Minister Melissa Horne to implement an inquiry into what she described as poor workmanship by contractors.
“Repairs lasting only a few weeks is not value for money; they should be fixed correctly the first time, with no corners cut and no need for almost immediate repairs,” Ms Tyrrell said.
“The shoddy workmanship we are seeing on rural roads is appalling and I call on the Minister to take action to ensure our roads are repaired and repaired properly.”