By Cam Lucadou-Wells
After a four-year bureaucratic impasse, a dangerously-potholed roadside verge in Keysborough is set to be fixed.
Greater Dandenong Council will seal the gravel verge on the Chandler Road section south of Cheltenham Road – despite believing that the works are the state Department of Transport’s responsibility.
The works have been given approval by the department.
The DoT and the council have long bickered on who should fix the roadside lip that extends several hundred metres.
In the meantime, motorists have driven over a series of puddles and bumps to turn left from Chandler Road onto the westbound lanes of Cheltenham Road.
Cr Tim Dark says the hazard could cause vehicles to veer out-of-control, putting drivers and walkers at a nearby pedestrian crossing at risk.
“The council is 100 per cent certain that it’s the department’s responsibility.
“But now it’s left to the council to pay to fix VicRoads’ roads. And VicRoads is saying go for your life.”
At a 22 June council meeting, Cr Dark called for the council to meet with senior department managers to discuss unresolved safety issues on its arterial.
They included accident-prone sections of Dandenong Bypass, Police Road and Stud Road.
“The Vic Roads network in Greater Dandenong is a huge problem.
“It’s getting to a point that every single time we make a representation, nothing happens.
“I get the feeling that every time they get an email from us, it’s put in the shredder.”
A department spokesperson told Star Journal that the works were Greater Dandenong’s responsibility.
