Time for roadworks in Vic!

SouthernComfort · Guru

Time for roadworks in Vic!

Desert Dweller · Guru

We agree that the Sth Gippy Hwy needs some extensive work done on it. It's been in a bad state of repair with lots of pot holes for ages. Another major Victorian Hwy that's been bad for ages is the Sunraysia. It's pavement was undermined by extensive floods about 6 years ago. It has many kms of ''whooptie doos'' causing your rig to pitch constantly.

Phillipn · Guru

SouthernComfort wrote:
A plea to Vic state and local governments to spend some money on our country roads...PLEASE GET THEM FIXED!! Start somewhere, anywhere, but please just do something...
Drove back from Yarram to Melbourne via Foster & Leongatha yesterday after a few days away. Beautiful countryside to travel through but the road degradation made it a less than pleasant trip having to traverse potholes, broken edges, old patches that have since lifted etc. Had to stop about 6 times for so called "roadworks" and the 40kph crawl, but not one of them involved repairs to the road surface! And these weren't all C roads, the worst by far was the A440 (South Gippsland Hwy), a major road in disgusting condition. The dozens of "rough surface" signs that have sprung up are no substitute for getting the road fixed. This was our 4th trip in Vic this year, and in all directions we've noticed how the road conditions are worsening. Glad we have a semi-off road van, it's becoming necessary just for negotiating the black top!
(sorry folks, end of moan!)

It is the same story with all councils and governments, the money gets spent in the "BIG END OF TOWN", and not in in country areas.

RustyD · Guru

The Sunraysia from Ouyen all the way to St Arnaud is almost undriveable with a van. 80kph tops in lots of places. In Western Vic it's the same even to the point where some stretches of road have the yellow 80kph advisory signs. Some now even have the white 80kph limit. Too much money being spent on wire rope barriers to control people who cannot control themselves.

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Agree 100% Tony. You are also allowed to "Rant" as before I sold up and became a full time GN, the roads you mentioned and many others around the area and also and as well even another major Highway, Bass Highway were my 'local' roads. All in a bad state and have been for many years. I actually reported them on here many moons ago now and still, as you report, nothing done.

Not only major roads covered by Vic Roads, smaller roads covered by local Government are in a bad state. Being and Ex Local Government worker in Middle Management for close onto 30 years (Transport Manager for 20) Toward the end of my 30 years I noticed a change away from looking after the people and more interested in staff getting all sorts of training, even some nothing to do with their jobs. Meetings were another thing that bugged me. Heaps of 'em and at most meetings there was always good quality and expensive food to be eaten. Back stabbing was another thing that was getting more and more too. I was always for the community and always agued with management above me until it got the better of me and I left with the notice required to get anything owed to me. It took many moons to get 60+ hour weeks out of my system and feel I was free of it all and I tell you that for free.

Yep, real bad roads all through VIC. Even where I am staying as we speak near Bachus Marsh VIC there was a larg hole in the middle of one lane of a two lane road for about 2 weeks, a crew came out 3 weeks ago now and 'fixed' it. The next day it was just as bad as before and still is. A crew came out and put a 'hazard' sign there and shot through. Three weeks ago! Why not just fix it properley there and then?

Struth! Now ya got me "Ranting" Tony. Sorry my friend, I will shut up now.

Keep Safe on the roads and out there.

blaze · Guru

we don't want to pay taxes, don't want to pay for this and that but want every thing perfect. Put all the roads back to dirt I reckon
cheers
blaze

Eaglemax · Guru

One of the problems is the quick fix. Instead of a proper grading they just reaseal. That means a thin easily damaged surface and no elimination of the undulations. Futhermore the wet tar and fine aggregate is left to passing traffic to roll it. This means cars, vintage, restored or your pride 4wd and van are subjected to duco damage. All in the name of...yep you guessed it-saving money

Desert Dweller · Guru

I worked in Design Engineering for 40+ years, on bridges, buildings, pipelines, dams, towers & roads. Road pavement was designed many years ago by a Scotsman called Macadam. The process is called water bound macadam. Basically it's spread, water then roll many times over with a bitumen seal on top, sort of like a layer cake. Once water seeps through cracks in the top seal into the lower layers the road is buggered forever & needs relaying. That's what should happen but it's a costly option so councils just keep doing patch up jobs to save money.
www.google.com.au/search%253A%252CQu9chd8rSF6IHM%252C_&usg=__WFDhXp089-I_cPa1MWyd6iL-Bns%3D&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi1pIrkxLDXAhUJTLwKHbUWDfIQ9QEIMDAE#imgrc=RFJZdbUkH7m2uM:
This link shows it all.

RustyD · Guru

Just come back from a motorbike ride on the Western Freeway around Ballarat. There is a very bumpy section Adelaide bound as you approach the Midland Highway. It's being resurfaced today. However that's all. The bumps with a few mm of bitumen on it have just exaggerated the bumps. Not a real improvement at all.

SouthernComfort · Guru

RustyD wrote:
The Sunraysia from Ouyen all the way to St Arnaud is almost undriveable with a van. 80kph tops in lots of places. In Western Vic it's the same even to the point where some stretches of road have the yellow 80kph advisory signs. Some now even have the white 80kph limit. Too much money being spent on wire rope barriers to control people who cannot control themselves.

Funny you should say that, most of the "road work" activity observed yesterday was around the planting of wire rope barriers.

In Sept, on our round about way to Swan Hill, we drove the St Arnaud - Wycheproof road (C271). Still sticks in our memory as one of the worst, albeit a C road. I've been trying to define the difference between A, B & C roads and can only come up with the following:

C road - A crappy road less travelled, unpleasant and hazardous for low density traffic

B road - A crappy road with slightly greater use, unpleasant and hazardous for medium density traffic

A road - A crappy road with heavy use, unpleasant and hazardous for high density traffic

Clearly, none of the decision makers in any of the authorities responsible for road maintenance ever has a driving holiday!

RustyD · Guru

Tony.

St Arnaud to Wycheproof sticks out as one of the worst stretches of road in Vic. I've suffered it a few times to avoid the Sunraysia north of St Arnaud to Ouyen. Also the Calder is 110kph from Wycheproof to Mildura. Good speed, reasonable road.

Sth Aus worst road is Bordertown to Pinaroo. Even the Sth Aussies will tell you that.

I reckon put a VicRoads senior manager and an equivalent Telstra / Optus person and send them on a road trip around the Victorian A, B & C roads and see how crap the roads are and mobile phone reception is.

macka17 · Guru

NO Bitumin road layed the AUstralian way. will ever last long.

I worked on Motorway construction IN UK Holland and Germany. Plus a bit on Sth Afria.

ANY road with NO concrete shoulders formed on a GOOD sub base.
will ever last long. They NOT a sealed unit.
They laid in layers. and The edges HAVE to be sealed. otherwise the first LOT OF wet\frost
ain.
Will creep along\through the layers and separate.

Pouring a bit of hot tar in there and filling with loose macadum and slow rolling
will do nothing but have fresh "bullets" rolling round the road for others to spray onto your windscreen.
As everybody's tyres lift it out again.

Fresh LAY. Complete is only way.(IN UK they CLOSE Complete motorway ONE side. relay it. then open and do same other direction. It works.
Costs more. but doing our roads a section at a time over time. will give a much better road system.
NOT the shambles they are in todays coditions.

OR. As they are starting to realise. Concrete roads as they do elsewhere in the world.
Do it once and check every ten yrs or so.
Anywhere water lays or runs. the pave WILL lift, separate. blister..
use concrete instead. Simple.

45 yrs ago (In UK, and EU.)
They had a German Single lay Paver.
worked with rollers. crews and tar mix trucks. Removal dump trucks.

It stripped a complete OLD pave to depth. width required.
Shook it through screens and heaters. separating the materials pretty well.

Added fresh fines. tar. relaid. Then rollers behind, compressed again.

AND THAT WAS 45....YES Forty Five YRS ago.. When I was a POM..

What's up with these D-ck Brains in this country.

Stop all these importing grants, and foreigners. COMPLETELY

get OUR country right first with OUR taxes paid.

THEN worry about importing more dole bludgers and walking bombs.

Back in box. Steaminggg.

Craig1 · Guru

Well Macka, you had better give your concrete recepie to N S W. Our Southern concrete Hume Hwy has been jack hammered and replaced frequently. Both inside Albury where 60km/hr applies and between Albury and Gundagai on the 100/110km/hr. cheers Craig

wendyv · Guru

On our trip earlier in the year, that involved Bendigo-Wedderburn-Boort-Charlton-Warracknabeal-Maryborough and home we found the state of most roads pretty dreadful.
We decided that, in those parts, truck traffic was the cause of much of the road deterioration. The local roads are used by trucks for harvest, fertilizer carrying etc. Pretty constant traffic from what we saw.
I just wish that railway transport of such goods could be more utilized in Victoria!

meetoo · Guru

wendyv wrote:
On our trip earlier in the year, that involved Bendigo-Wedderburn-Boort-Charlton-Warracknabeal-Maryborough and home we found the state of most roads pretty dreadful.
We decided that, in those parts, truck traffic was the cause of much of the road deterioration. The local roads are used by trucks for harvest, fertilizer carrying etc. Pretty constant traffic from what we saw.
I just wish that railway transport of such goods could be more utilized in Victoria!

The number of tarballs on all those roads is amazing. Don't see them here in SA as a rule. A friend on a motorcycle hit one and will never recover properly from his massive injuries. They are bad enough to hit in a vehicle. Plenty of signs warning of them but never seen a road gang fixing them. Not good enough!

Cheers, John.

Desert Dweller · Guru

meetoo wrote:
wendyv wrote:
On our trip earlier in the year, that involved Bendigo-Wedderburn-Boort-Charlton-Warracknabeal-Maryborough and home we found the state of most roads pretty dreadful.
We decided that, in those parts, truck traffic was the cause of much of the road deterioration. The local roads are used by trucks for harvest, fertilizer carrying etc. Pretty constant traffic from what we saw.
I just wish that railway transport of such goods could be more utilized in Victoria!
The number of tarballs on all those roads is amazing. Don't see them here in SA as a rule. A friend on a motorcycle hit one and will never recover properly from his massive injuries. They are bad enough to hit in a vehicle. Plenty of signs warning of them but never seen a road gang fixing them. Not good enough!
Cheers, John.

That whole area suffered wide spread severe flooding around 2010. The roads have never been fixed properly since that occurrence.