RESIDENTS have sounded the alarm over deteriorating road conditions along Boneo Rd between Cape Schanck and Rosebud, warning that the stretch of road was becoming increasingly dangerous.
According to locals, the arterial had deteriorated significantly over recent years, with a “hotchpotch” of temporary fixes described as “patently inadequate” as the repairs only lasted for a short time and other areas of the road started to break up.
Boneo Rd is a main arterial serving as a key route for connecting attractions such as the Cape Schanck lighthouse, RACV resort, The National Golf Club, The Ranch adventure park, and National Parks and is regularly used by residents, golfers, and a significant number of tourists.
Despite the road being resurfaced several years ago, residents have identified more than 40 large potholes, road edge defects and other deterioration over a 4km section of Boneo Rd that were a “serious safety hazard for all”.
Friends of Cape Schanck (FOCS) president Ian Renwick said while recent pothole patching had temporarily covered some of the worst defects, it had not in any way addressed the underlying problem.
“It’s just a sense that we’ve become a bit forgotten on the peninsula,” he said. “This has reached the point where rehabilitation works are required to replace both the pavement and road surface layers in order to restore the road back to its original standard.”
Renwick said several potholes had been marked with a bright reflective paint by an unknown resident who took it upon themselves to warn drivers of their locations and for others in their social media posts “alerting us of the dangers”.
Renwick said the Department of Transport’s recent comments in the media that would see a reduction in resurfacing works and a focus on road strengthening works was a measure supported in a letter to the Roads and Road Safety Minister by residents together with Renwick who said it was “a sensible approach based on their observations over many years”.
“As residents we are concerned that if Boneo Rd continues to be patched and not fixed, it will continue to pose a significant risk of damage, injury or fatality to not only residents but tourists and other road users,” he said. “This is the latest in an ongoing series of representations and locals for over a decade. At a meeting organised by the shire in 2016, the VicRoads senior traffic and transport engineer for metro south east, in response to a submission by FOCS, advised that ‘VicRoads would add the Boneo Rd shoulder sealing request to their programmed works’. “We call on the council to strengthen their role in advocating for and representing the needs of residents in this matter.”
In a statement, the Department of Transport said roadside workers would undertake vegetation clearing along Boneo Rd in January. Crews would also complete pavement repairs to sections of Boneo Rd early next year. “We work in close consultation with CFA vegetation officers, Victoria Police, the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action and local councils to plan and determine the timing of our fire risk reduction program, targeting the highest-risk areas as a priority,” it said. “On average, our crews mow, slash and spray around 45,000 kilometres of roadside grass and weeds each year – keeping motorists safe and reducing the risk of fires.”
Renwick said the scheduled works were welcomed, adding vegetation clearing would improve safety for road users and “better visibility for seeing wildlife such as kangaroos that may also help reduce incidents”. But he hoped the pavement repairs would not be another temporary fix.
“While the works proposed for early next year address an immediate need, we look forward to a further commitment from the Minister for Roads and Road Safety Melissa Horne in response to letters that have been sent to her requesting ‘long-term rehabilitation works’ and that the Department of Transport and Planning will action VicRoads’ commitment to a road shoulder sealing upgrade almost nine years ago,” he said.
Roads and Road Safety Shadow Minister Danny O’Brien said the government’s funding cuts to road maintenance had taken a massive toll. “A 95 per cent reduction in essential maintenance is just going to mean our already bad roads will get worse,” he said.
A Parliament’s Public Accounts and Estimates Committee on November 20 revealed $42.8 million was “transferred” from the Road Safety Strategy for new speed cameras, in what the Opposition said was an attempt “to plug black holes in the state budget”.
First published in the Mornington News – 3 December 2024
