The ‘pothole crisis’ affecting many of Australia’s regional roads is leaving grey nomads increasingly anxious over both the safety implications, and the potential damage to their vehicles and tyres.
Following our recent report about the Regional Cities Victoria (RCV) organisation labelling road fix funding levels ‘a Band-Aid on a bullet hole’, grey nomads have written in huge numbers detailing their own experiences.
Grey nomad, Les Haighway, said potholes were ‘out of control’.
“Where we live, one pothole 100mm deep was left for two months, and then VicRoads painted a yellow ring around it,” he said. “Then it took another three weeks to fix … and the fix wasn’t the best!”
Road repairs crews have plenty of work to do all across the country. PIC: Jezza
Victorian motoring organisation, the RACV, has just launched its My Country Road survey, encouraging the public to have their say on the state’s worst regional roads.
RACV Head of Policy, James Williams, said the campaign provided governments with the information to prioritise limited funding based on feedback from the people who use these roads.
“Regional roads can present unique hazards including potholes, narrow shoulders, changing speed zones and insufficient opportunities to overtake safely,” he said.
“Slowing down, driving to the conditions and avoiding fatigue are critical to keeping everyone safe.”
But, of course, Victoria is certainly not alone in facing up to road condition issues. In South Australia, the Outback road network spans around 10,000 kilometres, with about 15% of it unsealed.
A Department for Infrastructure and Transport spokesperson told the Grey Nomads that this year’s consecutive rain events had created significant challenges.
“While access has been restored in a number of areas, fully repairing the network will take time given the scale of damage and ongoing weather impacts,” they said. “Our focus remains on keeping people connected safely and reopening roads as conditions allow.”
But the scale of the task is simply immense.
Following heavy rain last month, Brisbane City Council declared a ‘Big Fill’ pothole blitz … and it repaired 4,634 potholes in less than two weeks. So far this financial year, more than 47,000 potholes have been repaired across Brisbane’s 5,700km road network.
The whole process can seem like a circular task that has no end … and it’s not just this country that faces the problem.
In the UK, Louise Wainwright from Devon County Council has come up with a controversial potential solution after saying funding cuts had left local authorities unable to keep on top of the pothole backlog.
She urged residents to patch their own streets, and produced a 23-page manual offering basic road repair training for volunteers. Her idea is that these ‘road wardens’ could fix smaller defects while councils focus on major jobs.
It’s an interesting concept, but one that really does sound like a Band-Aid solution. RCV Chair Cr Ben Blain said the issue, at least in Victoria, was that most of the regional arterial roads were reaching the end of their design life.
“They don’t just need patching,” he said. “They need rebuilding.”
WIN IT-FIT CARAVAN SHEETS
Grey Nomad members are being given the chance to win some specially made caravan sheets, courtesy of competition sponsor, It-Fits.
It-Fits caravan sheets are made from soft, 100%-Australian, cotton jersey and naturally stretch and flex to adapt to different mattress shapes and sizes without needing custom-made sheets. They fit rounded corners, narrow caravan beds, bunk mattresses, and non-standard sizes while still staying smooth and secure.
Click here to learn more about the competition and how to enter.
