General News
17 October, 2025
Safety concerns grow for motorists
THE deteriorating condition of roads across the western district remain a high concern for motorists and residents.
Port Fairy local Ross Knudsen is all too familiar with the state of the Prince Highway and has seen several cars “come to grief” from his front door.
“It’s an absolutely horrific stretch of road, as are so many across the district,” he said.
“What is it going to take for this government to get real, stop ignoring us and fix the roads and highways?
“These roads are disgraceful, unsafe and dangerous and something needs to be done now, not later.”
Within the past fortnight alone, Ross has seen drivers navigate large potholes, with one driver coming to grief thanks to a front wheel blowout – and all while travelling well within the 60 kilometre speed limit.
“This car hit one of the potholes on the highway and his tyre blew out,” Ross aid.
“How dangerous and how disastrous could this have been if the driver was travelling faster – or if it had happened inside a 100 kilometre zone?”
Ross believes this road “saga” is frustrating to all road users whether they are travellers, locals, truckies or interstate travellers.
He has been campaigning and complaining about the condition of the Princes Hwy at Port Fairy for many years.
Unfortunately for the residents who reside along the Princes Highway, they continue to feel the impacts of road pavement degradation, potholes, dangerous debris strewn over the road as potholes are enlarged, traffic noise from the rumbling of trucks as they navigate large uneven sections of roadway, and damage to vehicles including wheel rims and tyres.
“Our politicians, in particular the Minister for Roads and Road Safety Melissa Horne, continue to shrug us off and ignore the complaints that the people of Victoria are voicing,” he said.
“I watched an ABC news item late last week about the dire situation of Victoria’s regional roads and there was not a politician in sight willing to state the case of the government.
“I have invited Labor politicians to visit Port Fairy to see for themselves the state of the highway but so far there has been dead silence and the responses to my requests go unanswered.”
Ross believes safety concerns are being ignored at the highest level.
“The public, councils, and other state politicians are providing proof to support claims of damage to vehicles and road conditions and the Minister for Roads and Road Safety simply ignores advice and the complaints.”
In response to questions from the Warrnambool Weekly, Minister for Roads and Road Safety Melissa Horne said crews were conducting weekly inspections of the Princes Highway to monitor road conditions and complete any necessary repairs.
“We’re completing rebuilding a section of the Prince Highway at Port Fairy, between Villiers Street and Phillip Street,” she said.
“We are rebuilding and resurfacing roads across our network to keep motorists moving safely and smoothly on our regional roads.”
She added that the state government’s $976 million Better Roads Blitz was the largest road maintenance investment ever delivered in a single year in Victoria – and that 70 per cent of the investment would be delivered in regional Victoria.
