Road to holidays in ruin
Three times lucky: holidaymakers and locals are forced off the road by the third pothole in a bid to not damage their cars.
DETERIORATING roads on the way to South Gippsland holiday hotspots could be driving tourists away.
The Meeniyan-Promontory Road between Meeniyan and Fish Creek has three major potholes at which the speed limit is reduced to 40km/h.
The road is the direct route to holiday destinations including Shallow Inlet, Waratah Bay and Sandy Point, as well as being an alternative route to Wilsons Promontory.
Holidaymaker John Richards from the Latrobe Valley said the road is the worst he’s ever seen it.
“We’re regular visitors to the area and come down once a year but the roads this time are rotten,” he said.
“These are the worst it’s ever been. You expect a couple of potholes but it’s just too much.”
Mr Richards, who tows a caravan to Shallow Inlet for the holiday season said that he needs to slow down to crawling pace to get over the current potholes without possibly causing damage to his car or trailer.
The first pothole, when travelling from Meeniyan, is just before the Meeniyan Golf Course and causes vehicles in both lanes to either run off the bitumen or take on the hole. The second and third are within one kilometre of each other, just before the Buffalo bus stop.
These also cause motorists to run off the road, yet drops of over two inches from the road surface to the shoulder have been known to cause tyres to blow out.
Dumbalk resident Jenny Swan drives the road nearly every day to work in Fish Creek and is appalled by the road.
“It’s absolutely atrocious actually. There are some fairly major potholes that pretty much cover the whole road, whether you’re going down to Fish Creek or the other way to Meeniyan,” she said.
“They are as bad if not worse as three months ago. They have fixed it before but it just starts to break up above or below the patch and become pretty horrible again.”
David Gellion, acting regional director for VicRoads’ eastern region, said safety is the main priority.
“VicRoads’ highest priority for managing roads is to ensure that safety and access is maintained,” he said.
“Maintenance funding has been prioritised to ensure the continued safe operation of our arterial roads and bridges. Where sections of road have deteriorated, like the Meeniyan-Promontory Road, VicRoads is managing these with short term safety repairs and signage to warn drivers of potential changes in conditions, until more significant repairs can be undertaken.”
Mr Gellion said VicRoads will continue to inspect and monitor the Meeniyan-Promontory Road and undertake maintenance as required to ensure the road is kept in a safe condition.
“The latest pavement patching works were undertaken on Wilsons Promontory Road and Meeniyan-Promontory Road in mid November 2012,” he said.
“Further deterioration of the pavement in the lead up to the busy Christmas period has resulted in the need for warning signs and speed reductions.”
The current speed reduction signs were re-installed in December 2012 after the road deteriorated.
Motorists are reminded to observe warning signs and obey the speed limit.
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Posted by Simone Short on Jan 2 2013. Filed under Featured, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
