Wednesday, 30 October 2024

 Richard RIORDAN (Polwarth) (19:00): (891) My adjournment debate this evening is in fact for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, and the action I seek this evening is for an emergency urgent resurfacing of the Princes Highway west of Geelong between Geelong, Winchelsea and Colac. This duplicated road is only relatively new. The left-hand lanes both in the west direction and the east direction are both seriously compromised. Our local papers recently covered the cost to the local community – in one day one pothole claimed four vehicles. Whether it is the tyre repair people or the rim sellers – we have even had large B-double truck transports lose tyres. The condition of the road is substandard. Unfortunately, Minister, we read with great disbelief that in your alleged road blitz coming up this summer road season there are no funds allocated for the Princes Highway west. The funds to have this resurfaced will probably have to come from a Treasurer’s advance or some other source of immediate funding, but it is a very dangerous road.

The Princes Highway west was built as a 100-kilometre-an-hour road. It has wire rope barriers in the middle median and on the sides along the full length of the road from Geelong to Colac. This road is supposed to be a premier well-surfaced, safe road. Unfortunately today we have got large sections of the road down to 80 kilometres an hour, with no clear plan from this government on when it is going to be fixed. There is absolute unanimity in the Polwarth electorate and from the people that use this road, whether they are transport users, whether they are driving the school buses each day or whether they are people making their way to Geelong for health appointments or other work or people that drive to Colac every day for work or appointments, that this road needs to be safe.

I encountered it the other day, driving home late at night when it was raining, and you cannot see the potholes. It is very dangerous; The road just becomes a shiny surface. Most worrying is the left-hand lane. We are not talking about potholes or poor edges off to the left of the white line. These are massive holes and at times craters on the drive sides of the road. It needs immediate repair. It is simply not good enough. It is past patching. It is a complete resurfacing of the road from Colac to Winchelsea that is desperately needed. I call on you, Minister, to find the resources, because this important road, which will be carrying many, many tourists over the coming months, must be safe and fit and suitable for 100 kilometres an hour.