Horsham Rural City Council senior staff inspected gravel roads across the community on Monday partly in response to concerns expressed by the community, including through the recent Community Satisfaction Survey.
Managers and operations supervisors joined Chief Executive Officer Sunil Bhalla in the inspection, which examined roads in the Kalkee, Polkemmet, Grass Flat, Natimuk, Telangatuk and Wonwondah areas.
“It is good to see first-hand the condition of our roads, particularly following the very wet June,” Mr Bhalla said.
“The roads we inspected have been the subject of customer requests over the past 12 months, and it is pleasing to see where problem roads have been addressed by our staff to improve their condition.
“Over the past few years, Council has increased the budget for gravel road re-sheeting from about $600,000, to $900,000 and then in this year’s budget $1,000,000, and it is pleasing to see this being effectively delivered on the ground.
“But still I acknowledge there are roads that, even with recent grading, are starting to show that their gravel layer is wearing thin, and it is time for them to be placed on the list for re-sheeting in the next program.
“Council has a systematic process for planning this process, where the depth of gravel on roads is manually checked to determine which roads have the highest priority for re-sheeting. It was good to compare this information from across the municipality with actual conditions on the ground.”
Mr Bhalla said a local resident accompanied the group during inspections in the Grass Flat area.
“It was interesting to hear his observations and concerns about Council’s roads.”
“The inspection also visited some areas that are subject to flood recovery works, which are now progressing well across the municipality, but will still take some 6-12 months to complete.
“We know we need to keep improving our roads. It is a huge focus for the team – both in terms of budget and resources.”
Residents can help improve the condition of roads by reporting defects via HRCC’s online or by calling 53829777.
