If you feel like there’s more large potholes on Sunshine Coast roads, you would be right.
Although statistics are hard to find, most local authorities explain that the ongoing wet weather contributes to weakening road surfaces and crumbling, as well as delays in making repairs.
Are potholes annoying you? Submit a Letter to the Editor with your name and suburb at Sunshine Coast News via: news@sunshinecoastnews.com.au
Sunshine Coast Council is following up “more than 1300 maintenance requests across the Sunshine Coast’s sealed and unsealed road network”.
It’s allocated more than $6 million to repair the nasty ‘axle grinders’, working seven days a week and, when required, out of hours, to carry out repairs.
Noosa Council noted that, in the wake of the February 2022 floods, its road crews were patching up to 70 potholes a day.
A Transport and Main Roads (TMR) spokesperson added that its “work crews are inspecting, scoping and prioritising repairs to ensure network safety as conditions allow … Where required, emergency repairs are undertaken until more permanent repairs can be undertaken”.
Sunshine Coast hinterland resident Chris Maylor recently snapped a photo of a huge pothole on Maleny-Montville Rd near Gerrards Lookout, warning fellow motorists to take care.
“The quality standards of road building seem to have slipped in recent years, as they deteriorate dramatically and dangerously in even the lightest of drizzles,” Mr Maylor, who travels the road from Montville to Maleny often for work, observed.
He reported the hazard to TMR, and it’s believed it was promptly repaired.
The simple cause of the road damage is the “extended wet seasons experienced in the past two years, brought on by La Nina”, the SCC spokesperson said.
“The ongoing rain further affects a road’s surface integrity as ongoing wet periods allow more water to infiltrate the road pavement.”
Noosa Council Infrastructure Services director Larry Sengstock said the rain meant potholes and defects could form quickly, and repairs sometimes would not hold through continued wet weather.
“It is best to wait until the damaged section dries out to ensure the repairs hold,” he said.
“Our crews are out assessing the high-usage areas and we urge all road users to drive safely to the prevailing conditions.”
Where to go for help
Sunshine Coast Council encourages motorists to report potholes but asked that they first check if it was a state or local government-controlled road, by visiting the Queensland Traffic Road Lookup website.
To report a pothole on a SCC road, visit sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au or phone 5475 7272.
To report a pothole on a Noosa Council road, visit noosa.qld.gov.au or phone 5329 6500.
For information on state-controlled road conditions and closures and to report a pothole, visit www.QLDTraffic.qld.gov.au, call 13 19 40 or download the QLDTraffic app.
SUBSCRIBE here now for our FREE news feed, direct to your inbox daily!
