By Kirsty Ross
HOBSONS Bay City Council is calling on VicRoads to resurface several Newport roads, including two dangerous overpasses.
Councillor Bill Baarini said the deteriorating Melbourne Rd overpass, between Spotswood and Newport, near Blackshaws Rd, was “becoming very dangerous for drivers” because of its uneven road surface and decrepit railing.
“What maintenance and upgrade have they spent in recent years? Cr Baarini asked.
“There’s a lot of pressure being put on our overpasses.”
Also of concern are another Melbourne Rd overpass, near Mason St, because of its unsigned sharp turn and insufficient median strip, and sections of nearby North Rd.
Cr Baarini fears that wet weather and an increase in the number of trucks on the roads will worsen the problem.
Phil McDonald, the council’s director of works and assets, said that over the past five years it had submitted repeated written requests to VicRoads for North Rd to be resurfaced.
“We hope what they’ll do will suffice this time, and we’ll end up with a road satisfactory of the amount of traffic it’s carrying,” Mr McDonald said.
Cr Baarini said he did not want to see a repeat of the near-fatal accident of a Newport man in February, which left the 22-year-old in a coma for 11 days.
The accident occurred when a motor-cyclist, Taleb Taleb, who was travelling over the four-lane overpass near Mason St, hit the centre median strip and was flung off his bike over the strip, into traffic travelling the opposite way.
Mr Taleb said his injuries could have been prevented if the median strip, which is only about 10cm high, acted as a barrier between the lanes.
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Still recovering, he hopes VicRoads will erect a warning sign about the sharp turn and a barrier to stop cars from veering on to the other side.
“I’d fallen and slid across to the other side of the road and there was an oncoming car and my head hit the wheel of that car,” Mr Taleb said.
“I broke three ribs, punctured my lung, fractured my pelvis, broke my arm, my shoulder and bruised my heart.”
The former car wash worker said he probably would not ride a motorcycle again.
VicRoads did not respond to queries before Star went to press.
