WORK began on Wednesday to clear overgrown roadside vegetation on the Glenelg Highway between Casterton and Strathdownie – much to the cynicism of a regular road user.

In late March, The Casterton News reported concerns from several residents who regularly travelled from Casterton to Strathdownie or Mount Gambier, via the Glenelg Highway, where the coastal wattle spread had increased to the point where vegetation was hanging over the sealed road, completely concealing road shoulders and access roads to timber plantations.

At that time, Department of Transport acting regional director for Barwon South West, Aj Armstrong, said the Glenelg Highway was inspected fortnightly and the department planned to carry out vegetation removal and pruning of 600 metres of roadside vegetation near the Glenelg Highway’s intersection with Doughboy Road “in the coming weeks”.

Paul Jones, who drives to work at a Strathdownie property every day, spoke to The Casterton News in March and on Monday this week, about the dangers posed by the roadside overgrowth and the lack of action by the transport department, to alleviate the problem.

“They were out there the day the (March 29) paper came out … they were trimming back the trees, they were gone at the end of the day and they haven’t been back,” Mr Jones said.

“They didn’t even do the bit that’s the problem and they said, what? 600 metres … there’s not that much they’ve cut back.

“It’s a real problem, you can’t see the ‘roos coming out and if a log truck comes out of that plantation, there’s no way he can see if there’s any cars coming, there’s no way a car can see them coming out, until they’re on the road, in front of the traffic.

“The truck drivers hate it because it hits their mirrors, scrapes all down the side of their trucks.

“When I get to the Nine Mile (Cawker Creek), I slow down to 80 and I straddle the white line to try and avoid the ‘roos, but you can’t do that if there’s a truck coming.

“At least I’ve got decent bars on my ute … any little car would be in trouble.”

An email and several phone calls were exchanged between the Department of Transport and The Casterton News on Tuesday; the department did not respond to requests prior to deadline, however on Tuesday afternoon, a comment was issued from the new acting regional director for Barwon South West, Liam Butcher.

“Safety is always our priority and that is why our crews perform regular inspections at arterial roads across Barwon South West region, including the Glenelg Highway,” Mr Butcher said.

“We mow, slash and spray tens of thousands of kilometres of roadside vegetation every year and last month we cleared vegetation along 600 metres of the Glenelg Highway between Cawker Creek and Doughboy Road.”

On Wednesday morning, drivers along the road reported a team of tree trimmers at the problem sites – for the first time since late March – and that work continued on Thursday.

Mr Jones said he was pleased to see the vegetation clearing re-start this week, but cynical about the timing.

“It’s strange, very strange … it only happened after the (Casterton News) talked to them,” Mr Jones said on Thursday.

“It’s a start … perhaps now (The Casterton News) could tell them about the mess and getting the road done from Casterton to the border on Penola Road.”

Coastal (or sallow) wattle, while not a declared pest plant, was identified in a 2018 South Australian Natural Resources South East group report as problem along both the Casterton-Penola Road and Glenelg Highway between Mount Gambier and Casterton.

At that time, a major focus was the issue it posed for logging companies, spreading into plantations and impeding harvesting and maintenance operations.

Since that time, the wattle continued its spread along those roads, with road users fearful of a serious accident or fatality, due to visibility issues caused by roadside vegetation.