Murrindindi Shire Council has today issued a media release about pothole season:

Murrindindi Shire Council maintains more than 1200 kilometres of road across the Shire. Sadly for us all, potholes are a routine and unavoidable feature on these roads.

Murrindindi Shire Council Infrastructure and Waste Portfolio Councillor Eric Lording said Council does everything it can to ensure its roads are maintained in good condition.

“However we are currently in the middle of prime pothole season as the wet weather makes our roads particularly vulnerable to damage, like potholes,” Cr Lording said.

“Potholes form in patches of road where water is unable to drain away. In this weather Council can only provide temporary fixes – filling the potholes with gravel – as wet conditions make full repair works ineffective.

“Some 60 percent of Council-maintained roads are unsealed. Repairing potholes on unsealed roads involves grading (to reshape the road) and gravel replacement (to the top layer of the road) which together are known as ‘re-sheeting’. We are simply unable to carry out these works successfully in wet conditions as the repairs don’t ‘set’ properly and would again rapidly deteriorate.

“We understand that travelling on roads with potholes can be a nuisance, but we ask the community to drive to the conditions. By reducing your speed when travelling on vulnerable roads, the growth rate and size of corrugations and potholes can be minimised,” Cr Lording said.

“As usual, Council has a full program of road maintenance works planned once the weather warms up. In the meantime, Council will do its best to provide temporary fixes for potholes when they are identified. The community can play a role here by helping us to identify when potholes are forming.

“Let us know if you have particular concerns about a pothole or road. Drop us a line via our website request form at www.murrindindi.vic.gov.au/requests. Or you can give us a call on 5772 0333.

“And don’t forget that VicRoads manages a large number of roads in our Shire, including the major highways that connect our towns. You should talk to VicRoads to lodge your concern about potholes on those roads. We realise of course that you might not know whether a road is ours or VicRoads to manage, so feel free to get in touch and ask us,” added Cr Lording.