South Gippsland Highway: Bumpy road on a highway to hell

STUART Storr has been driving livestock trucks for more than 50 years and reckons he has never seen the South Gippsland Highway in such poor condition.

STUART Storr has been driving livestock trucks for more than 50 years and reckons he has never seen the South Gippsland Highway in such poor condition.

“From Sale, all the way through to Bass, it’s the worst I’ve seen,” Mr Storr said.

“I’ll guarantee if your backside is on the seat for more than 10 minutes, it’s a miracle,” he said referring to the bumpy ride.

Mr Storr said increased traffic, a lack of maintenance and increased loads have led to the road’s deterioration.

“The roads were built in the 1950s and 1960s, when we used to carry six to eight-tonne loads, now we carry 68 tonnes,” he said.

“From Yarram to Foster alone I could name 32 culverts … the water doesn’t run off the road, there are no drains, the water is running down the middle of the road, and if you’ve got 30 tyres coming over that at 100km/h it’s a big problem.”

Stuart Storr on the South Gippsland Highway. Picture: Andy Rogers

A member of a Gippsland road freight group, Mr Storr says the group met monthly to discuss the safety of the roads, and had invited Victorian Roads Minister Luke Donnellan to visit.

“Repeated requests have fallen on deaf ears,” Mr Storr said. “They’ve got all this money from the sale of the Port, but they’re not spending it here,” he said referring to the Government’s $9.7 billion lease of the Port of Melbourne.

Mr Storr said he had spent an additional $50,000 on automatic greasers for his 10 trucks over the last three years just “to steady the maintenance”.

“If you don’t maintain a truck, you can’t use it, and it is the same with these roads.

“I was recently driving between Warrnambool and Camperdown and the roads there are on par with this (South Gippsland) … it is bloody shocking, it’s a damn disgrace.”

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Gippsland South Nationals MP Danny O’Brien said his office received more complaints about the South Gippsland Highway “than just about any other issue in my electorate”.

“For a major highway, the surface is a disgrace in some areas,” Mr O’Brien said.

The Weekly Times understands VicRoads plans to spend more than $14 million maintaining arterial roads in South Gippsland this financial year, including $4 million on the South Gippsland Highway.

A further $12.8 million will be spent on safety measures between Leongatha to Meeniyan.