AFTER significant campaigning by locals concerning a stretch of road just west of Coleraine, crews have been working since Monday to run a series of repairs to make the surface drivable again.
The Coleraine-Edenhope Road to Harrow climbing up the hill north to Konongwootong has been a concern for a long time with a series of waves and bumps that looked more like the surface of a choppy sea rather than a declared road subject to VicRoads management and development.
Declared roads are classified under the Road Management Act 2004 as Freeways, Arterial Roads and Non-Arterial State Roads and comprise about 15 per cent of Victorian roads with the remaining 85 per cent as roads subject to local governance.
No one was more thrilled to see the road get attention than 10-year-old Coojar resident, Gus McCure, who wrote a 265-word letter to State Parliament last year describing it as “very bumpy and dangerous” and potentially leading “to a massive disaster”.
“Once my dad was driving down the hill and he was going normal speed and the antiskid light came on because the road was so bumpy,” his letter said.
“I find it scary when we go down the hill because I hate the bumps.”
The Year 5 Balmoral Community College student’s letter was subsequently read out in full on June 22 by Lowan MP, Emma Kealy, and he was glad to see the road machinery running up and down for himself on Wednesday morning before school.
“Dad told me when he got home (on Monday),” he said.
“I’m happy.”
But residents might be a little disappointed to note the works were only covering three relatively short sections of the infamous stretch of bitumen.
Ms Kealy said that while the works were years overdue, it was a start and some reward for years of tireless campaigning by local residents and road users.
“Roads in western Victoria should not be allowed to get to the shocking state of the Coleraine-Edenhope Road before they get fixed,” she said.
“Last year I met with concerned locals at the Big Dipper and saw firsthand where the camber of the road falls the opposite way to the curve, creating a frightening and dangerous experience for drivers.”
A worker at the site said the sequence of work was “rehabbing the existing road” using crushed rock, taking out “all the humps and bumps” and adding a lime cement blend that would be stabilised to a 200-millimetre level.
Subject to weather, he said the crew was expecting to seal the road today.
The worker wasn’t a local and did not wish to be named but said Monday was the first time he’d seen the road and “it would be nice if we were doing a bit more of it”.
“I think the worst part about it is how uneven it (was),” he said.
He said roads also fared badly when rainfall was excessive, such as how the latter part of 2022 has been in Australia, and population growth added to their wear and tear.
Ms Kealy said she would be keeping a close eye on the repairs to ensure all dangerous sections were completely fixed and the road is built to last.
“Thank you to everyone who has added their voice and shared their horror experiences to help take the message to the government that this terrible road had to be fixed before a life was lost,” she said.
“We need to drop the country road toll, and this has to start with fixing terrible roads like this properly, not applying a band aid fix that doesn’t address the underlying problem.”
