Motorists travelling on the M1 between Nar Nar Goon and Warragul are again experiencing deteriorating road conditions after 35.8 millimetres of rain was recorded at the West Gippsland weather station during the start of July.
The Nationals’ Melina Bath called out the Allan Labor Government’s road maintenance program labelling it a “pothole pantomime” after sections of the M1 in West Gippsland and Cardinia is again riddled with potholes after recent heavy rain.
“The Princes Freeway is a recurring pothole hotspot and motorists are fed up with the road continually failing in these same locations,” said Ms Bath.
“The recurring potholes expose Labor’s woeful road maintenance standards and ongoing neglect of our regional roads.
“On Sunday, road crews were out again commencing cheap patch-up repairs that won’t last.
“Two workers with a truckload of ready mix material were shovelling fill into the numerous potholes on the M1, before stomping it down with their work boots to compact and level the surface.
“It defies belief that this is the Allan Government’s idea of best practice maintenance on one of Victoria’s busiest highways.”
Ms Bath said regional Victorians were beyond frustrated by Labor’s cycle of temporary repairs instead of genuine long term road rehabilitation.
“Labor’s road maintenance program is focused on perception management rather than lasting solutions.
“Drivers watch the same potholes patched, reopened and only to be cheaply patched again.
“We know through RACV research, 64 per cent of regional Victorians identified potholes and poor road conditions as their number one road safety issue.
“Yet the Allan Government persists with flimsy band aid fixes to generate headlines and inflate its pothole repair statistics, rather than delivering a safe and reliable regional road network.
“Labor’s reliance on ineffective, short term patch jobs are failing Gippsland motorists who deserve safe, reliable and fit for purpose roads.”