An emergency work blitz is underway across Gippsland to repair flood-damaged roads, with the works jointly funded by the Federal and Victorian Governments.
In the wake of floods and extreme rainfall which have lashed the state since Christmas, Victorian Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Melissa Horne, said that a $99.5 million rebuild and recovery package includes large-scale, long-term repairs for Victoria’s most badly-damaged roads, including those in the Gippsland region.
Works are already underway on the South Gippsland Highway east of the Grassy Spur, where a section of the road between Falls Road and Carmichaels Road will be resurfaced and resealed to improve its durability, lifespan and safety for local residents, freight operators, and tourists.
Other roads set to undergo repairs across Gippsland include the Hyland Highway, Grand Ridge Road and Bengworden Road.
Works to be delivered under the package include fully rebuilding some of the most badly-damaged sections of road, major asphalting, landslip stabilisation, repairs to damaged structures and road shoulders, clearing of roadside drains and culverts and replacing signs, safety barriers and other important roadside assets.
Crews will also carry out additional roadside mowing and slashing to reduce the risk of bushfires posed by unseasonal accelerated growth.
Four separate flood events have hit Victoria since Christmas, forcing the closure of more than 100 of the state’s arterial roads at their peak.
Since then, additional resources have been deployed across the state to deliver short-term emergency repairs and get all of these roads reopened.
Funding for these emergency road repairs comes on top of the Victorian Government’s $770 million investment to deliver other major road maintenance works across Victoria as part of a $6.6 billion, ten-year investment.
Ms Horne said that continuing Victoria’s road to recovery after these recent flood events is the State Government’s number one priority, and that it will deliver these large-scale repairs as quickly and safely as possible.
