Road to nowhere

Barry Harris just wants his road fixed, but says a turf war between the council and VicRoads has left him confused. Picture: Donna Oates

By MELISSA MEEHAN

Residents left feeling powerless after electricity works ruin their street…

A TURF war between the local council and VicRoads has one resident worried his damaged road will stay that way.
Barry Harris said works to powerlines along Wellington Road in Clematis have left the roadway outside his house in a mess and no authority has claimed responsibility for fixing the road.
“SP Ausnet replaced a power pole last week,” Mr Harris said.
“It’s left the road in a mess, potholes everywhere and the gravel has come off the road.
“So I called the council to get it fixed and they told me it was up to VicRoads, then I called VicRoads and they said it was the council’s responsibility.
“I just can’t get any answers.”
Mr Harris said he spoke to contractors who were replacing the pole who said they believed it was a council road.
“Those guys were good to deal with, they understood my concerns, but at the end of the day they are just there to do their job.
“They don’t really know who is responsible,” he said.
“I don’t care who is responsible, I just want the road fixed.”
Cardinia Council operations team leader Mark Howard said that Wellington Road was maintained by VicRoads.
“As Wellington Road is a declared road, it is managed and maintained by VicRoads,” Mr Howard said.
“Council advises that the resident should contact SP Ausnet to request it fixes the damage caused to the road outside his property.”
Both VicRoads and SP Ausnet were asked to comment last week but neither had responded by the time the Mail went to print.