Add Category
The owner of a transport company is calling for Main Roads to be held accountable for the "below poor" condition of several essential heavy haulage roads in Western Australia.
Last year the public utility provider spent $3.8 billion on managing the state's road network but regional truck drivers say that money is not being spent in areas that need it most.
Sections of the South Coast highway have been highlighted as some of the worst along with sections of the Great Eastern Highway and Goldfields Road from Kalgoorlie to Esperance.
Road transport is the only way some communities can get the resources they need with the South Coast Highway running for nearly 600km between Esperance and Walpole, and 590km for the Great Eastern Highway that runs from Perth to Kalgoorlie.
An area of WA's South Coast highway that has not been upgraded but is essential for the transport of livestock and commodities. (ABC News: Andrew Chounding)
Lack of accountability
Last year, a total of $547 million was allocated to Main Roads for all maintenance-related works in WA roads including road reseal, electrical, structures, rail crossings, and road markings.
Upgrades to a 27km stretch of road in the south west of the state had cost blowouts, resulting in the project costing $1.45 billion.
This highway is used frequently by truck drivers, tourists towing caravans, and farmers. (ABC Great Southern: Georgia Hargreaves)
Mitchell's Livestock chief executive John Mitchell said taxpayer money was not being spent in the right areas and the general condition of heavy haulage roads in regional WA was "below poor."
"It's negligent behaviour," he said.
"The final nail in the coffin, so to speak, with incidents on these roads is the road asset and you can put it down to lack of maintenance in a lot of cases."
Rough surface signs are dotted along the South Coast highway to warn drivers of the poor road condition. (ABC News: Andrew Chounding)
Mr Mitchell said this issue was about accountability of Main Roads specifically, not the Department of Transport.
"I don't blame a single politician for this," he said.
"The owner of the road asset [Main Roads] has a couple of roles: they've gotta keep people safe and they've really got to provide and look after the asset, both of those things are compromised at the moment."
Trucking roads getting missed
Boyup Brook farmer Neil Derrick said the worst road in his area was the Cranbrook to Frankland River road.
The road is narrow and windy with several sections of the bitumen road edge higher than the gravel on the edges to widen the road.
This height difference in the road edge makes it dangerous for drivers who need to veer left off the road to make room for oncoming vehicles such as trucks.
Mr Derrick is fearful about driving this road because some sections are highly dangerous. (ABC Great Southern: Georgia Hargreaves)
"And nothing has been done," he said.
"People are paying road taxes to maintain the roads but it's not being spent in the right areas — it's atrocious."
In the past six years, Mr Derrick said he knew of at least eight truck or trailer rollovers along this road alone.
"Thousands of tonnes of freight are being transported on that road and nothing will get done until someone is killed," he said.
"The government spends billions of dollars on all these major highways, but the rural roads are getting neglected throughout Western Australia."
Repairs bandaid solutions
In the past few decades, heavy vehicle design has improved and now some road trains can be as heavy as 80–120 tonnes depending on the number of trailers.
Bitumen can slowly warp under the weight of road trains over time if the road has not been upgraded or maintained properly.
Despite being a major highway and essential heavy haulage road, there are many sections of South Coast highway in "below poor" condition. (ABC News: Andrew Chounding)
These road conditions make it significantly more difficult for drivers towing a load to ensure their trailers do not sway or roll, particularly during peak tourist season when the number of road users increases.
The ABC contacted Main Roads for an interview to address the concerns about a lack of accountability but the utility provider declined.
Main Roads has widened sections of this highway with gravel and patched up potholes. (ABC News: Andrew Chounding)
In a statement, a spokesperson for Main Roads said there were significant further investment and upgrade works planned across WA's regional road network to ensure they remained safe and efficient.
"The state government has also been delivering its landmark Regional Road Safety Program, which will see safety upgrades delivered to around 10,000km of regional roads by the middle of next year," the spokesperson said.