General News
19 June, 2026
Take care on highways and arterial roads
WARRNAMBOOL mayor Cr Ben Blain is urging motorists to take care when driving on the south west’s highways and arterial roads.
“The state of these major state government roads means that many stretches have become dangerous,” Cr Blain said.
“They have been let go for too long and we’re now in a position where there are numerous deep potholes on long stretches of road.
“These are evident on the Princes Highway (including Raglan Parade), Mortlake Road and to a lesser extent, Caramut Road.”
Local councils are not authorised, nor do they have the funds to make repairs on state-owned and managed roads.
“We’re seeing drivers weaving between the potholes, ruts and rough patches but some are unavoidable and we’ve all read the reports of numerous cars being damaged as a result of the road conditions,” Cr Blain said.
“So, the message is a simple one. Please take care on the roads, slow down if you have to and remember that potholes can develop quickly after a downpour if the road is already in a bad state.
“There’s a lot of rain forecast next week so the state of the roads is likely to worsen.
“Opportunities to repair the roads will be limited because of the weather so it is vitally important that we are vigilant and aware while on the roads.
“Council also has to maintain its own road network on a tight budget and I understand the saying ‘those who live in glasshouses shouldn’t throw stones’. However, the condition of our state-managed roads has deteriorated from poor to dangerous and it’s appropriate to alert people to the risk.”
Cr Blain said the South-West Victoria Alliance of councils was doing what it could to advocate for action on the Princes Highway and Regional Cities Victoria has called on the state government to invest an additional $2 billion on regional roads.
“We also asking the community to help out by report hazards to the Department of Transport, and the RACV is also conducting a survey which asks people to nominate the three roads that are in bad condition.
“And if you find potholes on council roads, please let us know by calling or lodging a request online at warrnambool.vic.gov.au.”
* The Weekly invites readers to send in locations of potholes across the district (and take photos if safe to do so) for publication under our ‘Plug the Potholes’ banner. Simply send to 0427 992 784
