LRRCSC - INQUIRY INTO VICROADS' MANAGEMENT OF COUNTRY ROADS SUBMISSION NO: 152 RECEIVED: 12 JAN 2018 Submission: Management of Country Roads Submittor: Jane Hildebrant Postal Address: Email: Mob.: 11 January 2017 Terms of Reference 1. The effectiveness of VicRoads in managing country roads; 2. The existing funding model and its lack of effectiveness for country Victoria; 3. The lack of consultation with regional communities and their subsequent lack of input into prioritising which roads are in dire need of repair; and 4. The option of dismantling VicRoads and creating a specific Country Roads organisation and separate Metropolitan Roads body. 1. The effectiveness of VicRoads in managing country roads VicRoads appears to lack a clear management plan for managing country roads. Talking to local drivers, the consensus is that roads’ maintenance is reactive and piecemeal and that vast sums of money appear to be being spent on works that are largely ineffective and therefore, a complete waste of money and time. This assessment was clearly articulated in the recent “Country Roads: Your Insights, Our Actions” report. I wholeheartedly concur with the findings of this report, viz.: “The desire for better links between regions, safer overtaking opportunities and investment in sealed shoulders were commonly raised, along with concerns about poor roadside drainage and pot‐holes… [as well as] greater transparency about what is happening on [our] roads” (p1). This report states, p16 (10/19 online) that: “The condition and maintenance of country roads was raised by many people throughout our engagement. Participants shared a need for VicRoads to “go beyond the reactive approach and ‘band‐aid’ solutions, such as patching or reducing speeds, to fix and maintain the country roads’’. The quality of road repairs was also raised and needs to be addressed.” However, the proposal, p18 (online 11/19) to: “Lower the risk to riders with a $2 million enhanced maintenance program to identify and fix small potholes and bumps that could be a hazard and remove loose material on bends at Page 1 of 10 some 200 recognised motorcycle touring routes” will simply not resolve the safety issues for road users be they motorcyclists, motorists or cyclists. In addition to normal car traffic, our rural roads are subject to heavy traffic, milk and fertiliser trucks large farm machinery and increasingly cyclists. Rural roads’ infrastructure is rapidly deteriorating and is in a generally deplorable and dangerous condition. In particular, where the road meets the gravel edges, the asphalt constantly breaks up leaving ragged holes that are often quite deep. VicRoad’s current management response is a programme of continual patching. On some roads, there is quite a ridge between the asphalt and the gravel. On roads with a narrow asphalt strip, oncoming drivers must drive onto the gravel to give each other enough room to pass safely. Stone chips are often flown up. (Example: Lees Road, Briagolong). Briagolong‐Stratford Road In our case alone, we have had three float tyres stripped to the rims due to a rear float wheel falling into a pothole and bending the mudguard into the tyre. Changing a tyre on the side of the road with two heavy horses in the float on the roadside is not a pleasant experience. Have you ever had to try and wedge a jack and a board to stabilise the jack under a laden float? With traffic passing at 100km p/h, this is also a somewhat precarious operation. We have also had to replace a $1200 windscreen due to a stone chip flung up by a passing vehicle from the gravel edge. Apart from the patching which breaks up almost immediately, VicRoads’ answer has been to place an annoying ripple strip along the centre white line, presumably to make drivers keep to the road edge. However, to avoid the dangerous, rough potholed edge, which if hit is, to say the least, murder on car suspension and, at worst, could cause a vehicle to flip if hit at speed, one must drive more to the centre. This is also hazardous, especially if pulling a horse float, due to oncoming traffic, obviously. The crunch comes when an oncoming vehicle forces one to drive over the pothole or lumpy patch. The car bounces into the air before landing hard back on the road. An inexperienced or non‐alert driver could easily incur a nasty accident, especially if the pothole is on a bend. To add insult to injury, just before Christmas, Vic Roads repainted the centre line and painted lines along the road edge. A cosmetic touch which does absolutely nothing to improve the road surface and a further waste of money! Everyone I speak is horrified at the money being wasted and the ineffective result. We all despair! Apart from this, one must keep an eagle eye out for wildlife – kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, echidna possums, tortoises, lizards and birds, and occasionally a stray cow or lamb. The roadkill numbers are distressing. Why can’t VicRoads post “Wildlife Crossing” warning signs at the spots where most animals are killed – at Blackall Creek Bridge (many wombats); adjacent Red Gum Reserve between Freemans/Lees Road and Cemetery/O’Connor intersections, in particular? Also, the timely removal of dead animals would be helpful. As it is, bodies lie on the roadside until they are completely decomposed. Nonetheless, a grisly warning to motorists. Page 2 of 10 Blackall Bridge Blackall Bridge Briagolong‐Stratford Road Where the bridge meets the road there are raised edges which lurch the car as it crosses them. These ridges are unavoidable being on both sides of the bridge in both directions. VicRoads is well aware of this hazard but instead of fixing it, they have placed a “Rough Surface” on the side facing Briagolong, but, for some unfathomable reason, not in the other direction. Why can’t VicRoads construct the crossing so the asphalt is the same height as the concrete bridge? Note: this is a spot where wombats often cross and are killed. Between the Stockdale Road/ Briagolong‐Stratford Road intersection and the 80km speed sign there is a crest in the road. Right on the crest on both sides are two separated patched areas that form uneven humps. The hump travelling into Stratford (east side of road) is slightly higher. Again, the car lurches over the humps unseating and jolting driver and passengers alike. At least the driver has the steering wheel for a bit of stabilisation but the passenger must cling to whatever she can grab on to. A “Rough Surface” sign has been posted on the east side for over a year but, as with the bridge, there is no sign on the west side. The locals know this hazard and are prepared for it. But what of others? These humps have been there for ages. Absolutely nothing has been done to fix them. Why? Maffra‐Stratford Road This is the main road between Maffra and Stratford. It carries heavy vehicles, caravans, farm machinery as well as cars and bicycles. This road was in a deplorable and very dangerous state. Large sections of rough, uneven patching extended right to the centre line on both sides. Patching works were being done to no avail. All one can say is that the road crews just add to the danger. However, driving on it last week, there seems to have been some more extensive sealing in some sections. The edges are still unsealed. Maffra‐Sale Road It has been reported in the local media that local school bus drivers warn that, in an emergency, the metal barriers will prevent bus doors from opening. This road carries a lot of traffic. www.gippslandtimes.com.au/story/5051990/road‐barriers‐block‐buses (14 Nov, 2017). The following Letter to the Editor confirms these concerns (Alice Munro, Gippsland Times, 21 Nov 2017): “Thank you to Geoff Higgins and the Gippsland Times staff for raising the issue regarding safety on the Maffra‐Sale Rd. I have felt for some time that rather than creating a safer environment, these barriers have introduced a serious safety problem. Recently I was driving to Maffra, following at a safe distance behind a school bus. When it stopped for young passengers to alight, we all had to stop as the bus was a metre over the road and there was oncoming traffic. I feel for the bus drivers as they have no other option. As yet I haven't encountered a farmer moving farm machinery, but no doubt it will happen. Obviously a lot of money is being spent, but the bottom line is that the road needed to be widened and upgraded long ago, with safe passing lanes and a bike path, then possibly there would be no need for these so‐called "safety" barriers. Page 3 of 10 Were locals consulted about this issue, or is this another example of people in the city with their good ideas?” If VicRoads” Policy is to “Reduce rough roads as part of a major uplift in regional road maintenance”, p18 (0nline 11/19), the only solution is to follow the Canadian practice of sealing all edges and doing this in association with a total road re‐seal. Constant patching is useless and is a complete waste of time and money. Princes Highway between Stratford and Sale (Highway 1) Apart from a couple of gentle bends, this section of the Princes Highway is straight and open. In my memory, in the past 15 years, there has only been one accident which involved a vehicle being hit when turning right into a side road. Consequently, the current works, which include the installation of wire and metal safety barriers seems completely unnecessary.