Victoria’s poor road conditions have come under renewed scrutiny after motorcyclist Peter “Tiki” Mason died when he hit a pothole on the Western Highway near Ballarat.
The 71-year-old was riding just before 1pm on Sunday when he lost control and crashed. Police said he had “struck a pothole and lost control”, and he died at the scene.
Professor Jo Kuys, a transportation expert at Swinburne University, said the condition of roads across the state was a particular concern.
“There’s an alarmingly high percentage of poor road conditions here in Victoria, which is unfortunate – and it’s a direct impact for drivers and also pedestrians,” Professor Kuys said.
Mr Mason was president of the Ballarat Eureka Social Riders. Friends said he had regularly discussed the potholes with fellow motorcyclists, while one described the stretch of highway where he died as “treacherous”.
Victoria’s pothole repairs under scrutiny
The death came days after a Victorian Auditor-General’s report found that half of the state’s road network was in poor or very poor condition. It also said the backlog of potholes awaiting repairs was growing.
Professor Kuys said governments faced a difficult choice between patching individual potholes and carrying out broader rehabilitation work, such as recoating a degraded road or removing and relaying it.
“Our primary long-term maintenance strategy isn’t hitting that mark of preventive measures,” she said, adding that potholes and patch repairs could be prevented through rehabilitation work.
She said patching could ultimately cost more per square metre than deeper and wider repairs. While potholes were repaired regularly, she said the work was often based on visible surface failures rather than addressing underlying maintenance problems.
“Not to blame any strategy, but if there is an incident like this (motorcyclist’s death), this really highlights the need for monitoring,” Professor Kuys said.
Roads Minister Paul Hamer said crews would repair the section of the Western Highway on Monday, with larger works planned for October.
Premier Ben Carroll said hundreds of millions of dollars had been redirected from level-crossing projects to fill 500,000 potholes over the coming summer.
The Liberal and National opposition has pledged $5 billion over four years for road maintenance and pothole repairs, with deputy leader Danny O’Brien describing Mr Mason’s death as a terrible tragedy.
