Road upgrade on back burner

THE Jones /Gladstone roads intersection with Princes Highway isn’t due for an upgrade any time soon, despite concerns from residents about the surface.
Councillor Matthew Kirwan told the 25 February council meeting that Dandenong West and Dandenong North residents commonly raised with him the “poor state of the road”.
Engineering services director Bruce Rendall said council staff had inspected the site and found signs of rutting/depression/shoving within wheel paths on Jones Road and Princes Highway, and signs of surface stripping/delamination at the Princes Highway and Gladstone Road intersection.
“The two sites are VicRoads sites,” he said.
“Council originally logged this as an issue with VicRoads in November 2011 and has since followed up on the request.
“VicRoads has inspected the site and has given it a lower priority compared to other repairs needed on its network.
“At this stage, there are no plans to resurface the site.”
VicRoads metropolitan south east regional director Peter Todd said the road authority prioritised maintenance funding “to ensure the continued safe operation of the state’s arterial roads and bridges”.
“The intersection of Princes Highway and Jones Road/Gladstone Road was inspected last year as part of annual maintenance program inspections,” Mr Todd said.
“At this stage, there is no plan to resurface this site as there are other higher priority locations for maintenance works.
“However, VicRoads will continue to inspect and monitor this site to ensure safety for all road users.”