By Natasha Fujimoto
IT doesn’t take a genius to understand that the appalling state of the roads in and around Dookie is, in the words of Leading Senior Constable Simon Hutchings, “a terrible accident waiting to happen.”
Pockmarked with a scourge of potholes, the roads, particularly just outside the township, have deteriorated to the point where cars, caravans, and motorbikes are quite literally bouncing across them. More than just a picturesque drive drawing tourists and visitors to the beautiful Dookie Hills and beyond, New Dookie Road is also an agricultural thoroughfare, carrying heavy farm vehicles and harvest trucks. Already a relatively narrow stretch of winding road, its upkeep has been sorely neglected, according to LSC Hutchings, a police officer with over 43 years of experience, eight of which he has spent diligently manning the Dookie station.
“I’ve worked in places all over the state, and I’ve never seen roads this bad anywhere, let alone for this long. Some of the potholes are 30 to 50 cm wide, and some are quite deep. If a motorbike hits one, and there are a lot of them out there on the weekends—it’s an accident waiting to happen.”
Having raised the alarm about the condition of the road for some time, even taking it upon himself to mark the largest and most dangerous craters, LSC Hutchings is far from impressed by the lacklustre, patchwork repairs that have taken place. He argues that full resurfacing is urgently needed.
“It’s a disgrace. I want to see the roads fixed as soon as possible just to avert an accident. It’s amazing that one hasn’t already happened,” he said.
“I saw workers down near Quarry Road patching the road with shovels and stamping down filled potholes with their feet. About three days later, the holes were exposed again, thanks to hundreds of trucks going over them every few days on their way to the silos.”
Echoing LSC Hutchings’ concerns, locals are also outraged, having reported significant damage to their vehicles.
“We’ve had cars damaged. I’ve had people tell me they’ve lost tyres, wheels, even the actual steel on their rims. It’s a miracle that no serious accidents have been reported so far.”
Still, locals are growing increasingly frustrated with the economic impact the road’s poor condition, and worsening reputation, is having on the township.
“Locals are angry. We had a car show recently in Shepp with GT Falcons, and they were supposed to come out here for lunch. But I’ve heard that a lot of them didn’t want to risk taking their cars out on this road. About 10 to 15 people came, but many more who had booked didn’t show up.”
Asked why he thinks it has taken so long for VicRoads, whose jurisdiction includes New Dookie Road, to act, LSC Hutchings said,
“It all comes down to money. And politics. But it shouldn’t be. This is about safety. It’s been going on for too long. If something does happen – they’ve been warned.”
