{"id":178528,"date":"2026-01-16T04:00:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T17:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/?p=178528"},"modified":"2026-01-15T11:48:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T00:48:18","slug":"committee-for-lorne-the-dragon-patcher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/committee-for-lorne-the-dragon-patcher\/","title":{"rendered":"Committee For Lorne: The Dragon Patcher"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dragon Patcher<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the wee small hours of October 2025\u2014the night before the combined international: Amy\u2019s Great Ocean Road Gran Fondo and the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships\u2014a myriad strange white markings appeared on the surface of the Great Ocean Road … a one metre long, diminishing zig-zag squiggle ending in an arrow pointing to every white-circled pothole.\u00a0 There were hundreds!<\/p>\n

Finally, I thought, a response from the authorities.\u00a0 Though belated and rather amateurish, at least VicRoads had realised the threat and made a [truly] last-minute attempt to warn our international cyclist guests and local entrants of their impending danger.\u00a0 I presumed that repair would follow, for to warn of a defect yet leave it unrepaired would seem unthinkable … but no!\u00a0 As the weeks passed, the white paint wore away [along with the remaining surface], and the high-season traffic descended on the beleaguered road, the bitumen crumbled more, and the potholes grew.<\/p>\n

Add insult to [luckily] avoided injury, it seems that the warning signs were privately<\/u> organised\u2014in desperation and [literally] at a stroke before midnight\u2014by the event organisers.\u00a0 The State was\u2014as it ever is\u2014missing in action.<\/p>\n

The road\u2014touted by our Government and its heavily-funded tourism departments as one of the five most magnificent coastal drives in the world\u2014continues to deteriorate by the minute.\u00a0 No fix has come.\u00a0 No apology to the Fondo conglomerate.\u00a0 And as for the article I wrote for the Committee for Lorne page in the Surf Coast Times, some weeks before the Fondo [https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/mja89s2r<\/a>], it had predictably fallen on deaf ears.<\/p>\n

It seems all vestiges of reparative effort have faltered and fallen away in this struggling state, as regional roads disintegrate before their users\u2019 eyes.\u00a0 Melissa Horne, Minister for Ports and Freight since December 2018 and\u00a0Minister for Roads and Road Safety since December 2022 [though who would know?] remains mute and relatively unknown.\u00a0 No statements of monumental depth and insight like those recently delivered by our Prime Minister … \u201dI have been taking time to reflect so that I can get it right\u201d … <\/em>have escaped her lips or been issued by her department\u2014nothing but stony silence.<\/p>\n

Not so in the metropolis, however, where the self-congratulatory fanfare for newly opened tunnels and railways from Woop-Woop to Nowhere is raucous and ongoing [though it might be politic not to mention any newly-minted sinkholes in sporting grounds] as this metro-centric government continues to ignore and forget that it has regional and rural responsibilities, too.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, you have forgotten the roads in the country and angered the farmer CFA volunteers prior to the fire season by imposing a new Emergency Services Levy that has drastically increased their costs, taxed their land like a business investment, penalised those who form the backbone of CFA volunteerism, and heightened the risk to rural communities.\u00a0 Is it any wonder regional Victorians are so disillusioned?<\/p>\n

But … back to the topic of roads.\u00a0 I recently read an interesting article [a remarkable must-see video clip accompanied it] that described \u201cThe Dragon Patcher\u201d\u2014a really cool Swedish road-repair system.\u00a0 I immediately wondered if Ms Horne might have seen it too, though my best bet is \u201cno\u201d.\u00a0 So, Ms Horne, for your benefit and to bring you up to speed with 21st-century road repair, let me fill you in\u2014just like the potholes you aren\u2019t [but should be] filling.<\/p>\n

As Fabio Lucas Carvalho writes [published 14\/05\/2025 … see https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/3mf466rr<\/a>]\u00a0 … the \u201cDragon Patcher\u201d is an innovative and efficient machine, developed in Sweden, that quickly repairs potholes on roads.\u00a0 Carvalho describes it as a fast, safe, and economical option that reduces costs and increases worker safety.<\/p>\n

Operated from the vehicle’s cabin by a single operator, it derives its peculiar name from a beak-like arm that extends in front of the driver\u2019s cabin and emits flames that resemble the breath of a dragon.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

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The repair process requires several sequential steps:<\/p>\n