DESPITE an ongoing campaign by South West Coast MP Roma Britnell, local residents, and freight companies, negotiating the dangers posed by travelling on the Woolsthorpe-Heywood Road is still a major issue as one P-Plater found out recently.

Opposition roads spokeswoman Steph Ryan accompanied Ms Britnell to inspect the road and other local roads yesterday, as part of the Opposition’s state-wide campaign to find Victoria’s worst roads.

Woolsthorpe-Heywood Road is a strong contender to be named the worst, with no arguments about its status from Mortlake P-Plater, Pat Barton.

Mr Barton’s vehicle sustained significant and costly damage after he travelled west on Woolsthorpe-Heywood Road last month in his Ford Fiesta to a friend’s house in Mount Gambier, when he met an oncoming Ford travelling towards him at 100 kilometres per hour in a 60-kilometre zone section.

Mr Barton said he was faced with no choice but to pull off the road because the other driver would not move over to make room for both vehicles, forcing him into a pothole-ridden and broken-edged section of the road that caused both left tyres to blow and damage to the wheel rims.

“That road is stupidly dangerous,” he said.

“I was only doing 60 kilometres per hour but as I pulled off the road both left tyres popped.

“And both the rims are completely buckled because the potholes were so deep.

Woolsthorpe-Heywood Road is a 75-kilometre carriageway gazetted for B-double and road train use that is the responsibility of the State Government and is a vital link to the Port of Portland used daily by grain, livestock, and dairy tankers as well as school buses and local traffic.

Rough surfaces, narrow and single carriage ways, low hanging limbs with some sections permanently sign posted at 60 kilometres, another section with a ‘rough surfaces’ sign in place for over 20 years, broken edges, riddled with potholes and poor visibility from dust, are just some of the issues with which the large volume of road users must contend.

Ms Ryan and Ms Britnell travelled on Woolsthorpe-Heywood Road in a truck yesterday following which they met with locals and truck drivers to talk more broadly about poor road conditions in the South West Coast electorate.

Ms Ryan said at the end of the Worst Roads campaign, a priority list would be presented to the Roads minister.

Upon inspection, Ms Ryan was appalled and conceded that Woolsthorpe-Heywood Road was definitely one of the worst.

“Certainly, it is right up there,” she said.

“The fact that it has been allowed to deteriorate to this point is shocking.

“I don’t know how freight users and local residents have continued to use it.

“It is also having a serious impact on productivity.

“We spoke to a number of residents this morning who said that they have had accidents on this road and I just don’t buy the government’s argument that road surfaces don’t contribute to (these accidents).

“I heard four stories today from people who have had accidents because of potholes or deteriorated road surfaces and where they have been hospitalised.”

Ms Britnell was expelled from question time in February during a passionate debate over the state of roads in the south-west and implored Roads minister Ben Carroll’s to be the one with the fortitude to fix the Woolsthorpe-Heywood Road, and “fix it properly”.

When responding to Ms Britnell’s adjournment matter in April regarding Woolsthorpe-Heywood Road, minister Carroll said that accidents that occurred on that road in the five years to December 2020 were not caused by poor road conditions.

Ms Britnell said it was disappointing that despite campaigning on the Woolsthorpe-Heywood Road since she entered Parliament, the State Government had still not taken enough action.

“I have been advocating for proper investment into Woolsthorpe-Heywood Road for many years, but the Andrews Labor Government just doesn’t care,” she said.

“Instead of fixing it and fixing it properly, they just lower the speed limit,” she said.

“It’s not good enough.”

Mr Barton has not been able to move his vehicle from the vicinity yet as it remains undrivable and said he would contact VicRoads to enquire about making a claim for the damage to his vehicle.

“I left my car at a local property owner’s place who said that in the last couple of days that section of road has now been sign posted to 40 k’s per hour – it was previously 60 k’s per hour,” Mr Barton said.

“I was not doing anything wrong that day, I was paying attention and driving safely.

“If I hadn’t been paying attention, there are so many variables that could have completely changed the outcome for the worse.

“I don’t see myself driving on that road again.

“I’ll avoid it now.”