Shire applies for state funds to fix country roads

THE Surf Coast Shire is seeking state government funding towards four significant road upgrading projects.

Councillors resolved at their February meeting to lodge applications for Regional Roads Victoria Fixing Country Roads Program round two allocations.

The road projects are:
• Horseshoe Bend Road culvert replacement and improvements, between McCanns and Fishers Roads, with an estimated project cost of $900,000
• Coombes Road rehabilitation and widening, between Anglesea and Ghazeepore roads, project cost $830,000
• Sealing of Messmate Road between Council’s Torquay depot to John Pawson Jr Lane, project cost $900,000
• Rehabilitation of Forest Road, for 500 metres north from Grays Road intersection.

The projects were chosen from a list of eight, based on likelihood of meeting funding criteria, and were identified via the Council Road Safety Program and G21 Regional Roads Transport Plan.

Fixing Country Roads Program funding would cover two-thirds of the cost of each project.

“Council was successful in receiving funding in round one of this program, now round two presents further valuable opportunity to secure external underpinning support,” Torquay Ward councillor Brian McKiterick said “These are significant projects focusing on improvements in known black spot locations.”

Successful projects will be named in April and must be delivered by June 2020.

Meanwhile, the shire’s October-December Road Management Activities Report shows strong performance in meeting inspection and repair targets outlined in its Road Management Plan.

According to the report, 94 per cent of inspections arising from customer contact, 100 per cent of scheduled inspections, 99.5 per cent of defect repairs and 95 per cent of defect repairs under way remained within RMP
target deadlines.

Winchelsea Ward councillor Heather Wellington said the council had to be confident that the plan set the correct standards “because if we’re complying with a plan with standards that aren’t meeting community expectations, then we have a problem”.

She said unsealed roads were a continuing problem.

“It is the second lowest satisfaction item for this council and has been for many years, and after our Community Satisfaction Survey we keep getting little reminders from the people who do the survey saying we need to do more on unsealed roads, but we don’t seem to be able to do it.”