Time for a permanent pothole fix

A warning sign near the pothole.

By Danielle Kutchel

In yet more pothole pain for Officer, a crater has opened up on Brunt Road and is wreaking havoc on unsuspecting vehicles.

And it’s not the first time the pothole has appeared.

Nearby residents say the problem reoccurs and has done for years, with Cardinia Council workers routinely appearing to patch it up, only for the hole to crumble again with time and bad weather.

One neighbour, Selina, said the sound of cars hitting the hole could be heard throughout her house.

“I feel for them,” she said of the motorists.

“You can imagine the damage it’s causing, not just to little cars but big ones too.”

Selina said she’s been lucky and has never hit that particular pothole, but she has hit others along Brunt Road a few times.

She said it is high time for the problem for be fixed permanently.

“They need to do it properly,” she said.

Last week, she watched as council workers put up a warning sign near the latest gap in the road surface and scraped some soil in the ditch next to it.

She expected them to do more, but that was it.

She added that the pothole was particularly dangerous during bad weather, when rain filled it up and made it impossible for drivers unfamiliar with the road to see and take evasive action.

Star News Group is aware of drivers who have had to replace tyres due to damage caused by hitting the pothole.

It’s feared the pit will only get worse as more drivers are funnelled onto Brunt Road with intersecting Rix Road closed from Thursday 3 September for a month for drainage works.

In response to questions from Star News Group, a Cardinia Shire Council spokesperson said in a statement that the pothole had been repaired last week and will be monitored by the council.

“Council repairs road defects as quickly as possible in accordance with our Road Management Plan,” the spokesperson said.

“If subsequent failures occur a large and more substantial repair will be scheduled once ground conditions are stable enough to allow that work to be completed with good effect.”