Residents raise concerns about ‘continuous’ worsening of potholes and ‘Band-Aid fixes’

Geelong residents have identified where some of Geelong’s worst potholes are located. SEE THE MAP.

St Leonards resident Bret Wilson on the corner of Cliff St and Beach Rd St Leonards where the council have just graded the roads but potholes are already reappearing. Picture: Mark Wilson

                                

Geelong residents have identified roads where potholes are most prominent — and they want more than a “Band-Aid fix”.

St Leonards resident Bret Wilson said potholes in roads in the Lower Bluff area were continuously getting worse.

He said the road was recently graded but potholes were reappearing.

“The material of the road is not very good and as soon as it rains potholes appear,” he said.

“Every time it is like a Band-Aid fix.

“It’s still ordinary in summer too, because its orange gravel and when it dries out it gets super dusty.

“I’ve never seen anywhere so dusty in my life.”

Mr Wilson said he believed a good quality road material would go a long way to remedying the problem.

“The orange gravel when there’s light traffic is fantastic but when there’s heavier traffic it deteriorates very quickly,” he said.

“The worst thing is damage to the car, I have hit potholes and damaged wheels before so it can be quite expensive.”

Other locations of potholes Geelong Addy readers identified as the worst included Burvilles Rd in Armstrong Creek, Burnside Rd in Bannockburn and Rossack Drive in Grovedale.

City of Greater Geelong executive director of city infrastructure James Stirton said the council fixed more than 5814 potholes in the 2023-24 financial year.

“The biggest contributor to road defects is rain, which seeps into the road through a small hole or crack in the asphalt and then causes the foundation to weaken and shift,” he said.

“Traffic on wet roads increases the amount of water seeping into minor cracks on the road network and creating potholes.”

Mr Stirton said residents were encouraged to report road issues to the council.

The Golden Plains Shire receives about 550 requests a year for pothole repairs.

Potholes in the Lower Bluff area of St Leonards shortly before it was graded, but residents say it won’t take long for it to look like this again.

A shire spokesman said water unable to drain from road shoulders, increased use by heavy vehicles and farm machinery and significant weather events were contributing factors to potholes.

“Council also undertakes an annual hazard assessment of the whole road network to identify defects for repair,” he said.

“Council will also aim to increase its road rehabilitation budget over the next few years which will see an increase in road renewal and improvement projects.”

In the Surf Coast region the council received almost 1300 requests for road maintenance in 2023-24 financial year.

General manager of community life Damian Waight said 96 per cent requests were completed on time.

“Our staff inspect each request within five days to assess if the defect meets the intervention levels described in our Road Management Plan 2021-2025.

“When a defect meets the intervention level, there are different time frames for repair depending on things like the type of road it is.”

Department of Transport and Planning executive director for Barwon South West and Grampians Michael Bailey said the department was finalising a program of works to repair and rebuild roads across the state.

He said Geelong was included in this year’s $964m investment in maintaining Victoria’s roads.

The content summaries were created with the assistance of AI technology, then edited and approved for publication by an editor.

Originally published as Residents raise concerns about ‘continuous’ worsening of potholes and ‘Band-Aid fixes’