By Raquel Mustillo
NEGLIGENCE, rainfall and lack of maintenance has left a number of State Government roads littered with potholes, prompting a Limestone Coast council to issue an urgent demand to fix the dangerous defects before a fatal crash occurs.
Motorists along a number of key roads – including the Princes Highway, Southern Ports Highway, Mount Burr Road and Millicent-Penola Road – are being forced to plough vehicles through rapidly expanding potholes, with dozens of drivers reporting flat tires and damaged rims.
At last week’s meeting, Wattle Range Council voted to write a letter to Infrastructure and Transport Minister Corey Wingard asking for repairs to be undertaken to the Princes Highway between Millicent and Mount Gambier after the state of the road was labelled “horrific” by a senior executive officer.
Wattle Range mayor Des Noll – who recently sustained a deflated tyre after hitting a pothole – has urged the State Government to undertake permanent road repairs as a matter of urgency to boost safety across the region.
“Minister Wingard needs to do something urgently about the condition of South Australian regional roads,” he said.
“Regional roads in the Wattle Range Council are simply falling apart.
“It’s only a matter of time before a fatal accident is caused by poor road condition.
“Our community needs action now.”
Millicent resident Tegan Merrett is among the growing number of community members reporting damage as a result of the poorly-maintained roads, shelling out thousands of dollars in repairs.
“I was following a car and there was an oncoming car in the distance on the right hand side of the road,” she said.
I saw a rough patch in front of me coming up and I saw the oncoming car and I had no choice but to hit the pothole.
“I immediately knew that I was in trouble after hitting that pothole as It was incredibly loud and I started to notice my steering was affected.”
Ms Merrett – who is currently using a hire car to travel to work until her car is fixed – said she was reluctant to travel from Millicent to Mount Gambier in the event of hitting another pothole.
“It’s so scary and I feel so unsafe,” she said.
“We pay our registration which is also meant to help upkeep the roads, this is simply dangerous and accident is waiting to happen.”
While driving along the Millicent-Penola road at 110kph, Millicent resident Sarah Hannaford-Meyers hit a pothole resulting in two bent rims.
“I was able to get second-hand rims for $100, then $50 to have it changed over and $115 for a new tyre,” she said.
“I have just got it fix and moved on, but it’s annoying that is happens.
“We have to keep our cars roadworthy to drive on roads that are not car worthy.”
The Border Watch sought comment from Mr Wingard, with the Infrastructure and Transport Department responding that the State Government was committed to improving the safety of roads across the state, including in the Limestone Coast.
“A number of road infrastructure upgrades have already been undertaken, or are planned for the in the future, in the Wattle Range Council area,” a department spokesperson said.
“There was funding in the 2021-22 State Budget for road projects in the Wattle Range Council area, which includes new overtaking lanes and extensions of existing overtaking lanes between Meningie and the South Australian/Victorian border, intersection upgrades near Millicent, audio tactile line marking, safety barrier and rest area upgrades along the Princes Highway, as part of the Princes Highway Corridors Improvement Project.”
The department said surface treatments would be undertaken on various sections of the Riddoch Highway between Keith and Mount Gambier, in addition to an overtaking lane on the Riddoch Highway between Edenhope Road and Coonawarra.
Member for MacKillop Nick McBride said a number of constituents had expressed concern about the road conditions and he was endeavouring to get a response from Mr Wingard.
But Shadow Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis said the State Government had failed to address the continued deterioration of regional roads, adding most of the road infrastructure spend since 2018 has been centred in metropolitan Adelaide.
“The Liberal Party talked a big game before they entered office about what they claim was neglect on regional roads,” he said.
“As soon as they got into office, all the people they relied on to vote for them for the last 16 years to keep them competitive while they were losing election after election, they abandoned them.
“The Premier has allocated nearly $9b on eight kilometres of road on South Road meanwhile regional roads remain in tatters.”
Mr Koutsantonis said the State Opposition planned to release a comprehensive infrastructure package ahead of next year’s election, which would include road maintenance and new road builds.
“When we announce that, I will come down to the South East and answer people’s questions about regional roads,” he said.
“Corey Wingard needs to explain to the people of the South East that why over four budgets and $80b, he couldn’t find $10m or $20m to repair roads that are vitally important to key communities in the South East in the two seats that have supported the Liberal Party through thick and thin for the last 30 years.”
Wattle Range Council urged motorists to contact the Infrastructure and Planning Department on 1300 872 677 to report potholes.
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