‘Excessive’ roadside grass, potholes on South-East SA highways puts contractor Fulton Hogan on notice

Motorists travelling along two major roads in SA’s south should probably keep their eye’s out, local leaders say, as locals take an important job into their own hands.

Fire-prone grass and potholes on the Princes Highway and Southern Ports Highway have prompted local leaders to urge extra caution on the road this holiday season.

Contractor Fulton Hogan maintains 5800 kilometres of state roads – 25.3 per cent of the total network – but is facing “significant challenges in meeting … routine maintenance services”, according to a Department of Infrastructure and Transport spokesman.

Some landowners have reported roadside grass growing up to a metre high, forcing them to trim it themselves.

Mark Beggs (pictured) and wife Melissa have taken it on themselves to mow roughly 1.5 km of roadside grass near their property because of bushfire fears. Picture: Frank Monger

Fulton Hogan is contracted to spray and mow 3800 km of roadside grass. Picture: Frank Monger

Sixty-five potholes have been reported on Princes Highway and 20 on Southern Ports Highway this year, but locals told The Advertiser that repairs often come undone within months due to wear and tear.

SA is locked into a seven-year contract with Fulton Hogan signed by the former Marshall government, expiring in 2027, but the Department “may seek to re-tender or terminate” it following an ongoing review, according to the spokesman.

MacKillop MP and farmer Nick McBride said he hears complaints about overgrowth at least once a day, particularly regarding the Princes Highway between Millicent and Kingston SE.

Independent MP for MacKillop, Nick McBride, said that the price of Fulton Hogan’s contract means it cannot mobilise enough resources to maintain the road network. Picture: NewsWire / Roy VanDerVegt

“If we get tourists going into Christmas and New Year pulling up on the side of the road on a hot day … the vegetation being a metre high, they will start fires,” he said.
“But the contract doesn’t allow Fulton Hogan to put the resources into maintaining this network and the contract was significantly reduced in the four years under the Marshall government.”

Graziers Mark Beggs and wife Melissa live on 1500 acres near Millicent with their two children, and have already had two grass fires near their property this month.

Melissa Beggs and husband Mark outside their Greenways property. Picture: Frank Monger

Fulton Hogan has been contracted to maintain 5800 km of South Australian roads (pictured in green), covering the Regional South, zone 2 area. Picture: Department of Infrastructure and Transport

Every fortnight, they mow roughly 1.5km of grass outside their property, even though the opposite side is regularly sprayed.

“Because the grass gets so tall, there’s a chance that if the fire comes toward us it will jump across the road … we’re taking extra caution because of the dry season, but not everyone does that,” Ms Beggs said.

Fulton Hogan is contracted to spray and mow 3800 km of roadside grass, up to one metre behind the guideposts, plus median strips, rest areas and weigh stations.

The contract value is under commercial confidence and Fulton Hogan did not respond to a request for comment.

Example of a recently resurfaced pothole on the Southern Ports Highway. Picture: Heather Burdon

Community members say potholes were causing a litany of problems, from lowered speed limits to damaged shipments. Picture: Heather Burdon

However, Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis acknowledged “some previous spray programs have been less effective than they should be”, with additional firebreak mowing spanning mid-November to December.

“Not only has the privatisation of our maintenance arrangements led to poorer delivery, it saw the road maintenance backlog blow out dramatically, leaving the incoming Labor government to manage a near $2 billion legacy,” he said.

“The state government is considering all our options to rectify this situation.”

Beachport community leader Heather Burdon, 67, said potholes were causing a litany of problems, from lowered speed limits during roadworks to truckers complaining about shipments damaged after going over bumps.

“We’ve got school buses travelling along these roads, carrying our most precious cargo, and the drivers are complaining about how unsafe it is,” she said.

“We’re all patient about road restrictions, but then you go through all that and in a few months it’s being fixed again.”

The government’s review into the contract is expected to be handed down early next year.