By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
WEATHER control and road surfacing are fuelling a spat between a local federal MP and Victoria’s Roads Minister.
Member for Corangamite Sarah Henderson criticised Luke Donnellan for slow progress on the duplication of the Princes Hwy to Winchelsea.
But Mr Donnellan hit back, saying he was unable to control the weather.
“If Sarah Henderson thinks she can control the weather to deliver projects earlier, I’d like to see that,” Mr Donnellan declared.
“The Andrews Labor Government is delivering the Princes Hwy duplication in the safest and most-responsible way.
“VicRoads and its contractor, BMD Constructions, have been focussed on trying to get this project completed prior to winter.
“Unfortunately, cold temperatures and wet weather has prevented final sealing on about 1.5 kilometres of the highway.”
Ms Henderson refused to accept that the weather was the only cause of the delay.
“Variability of weather conditions should be routinely factored into major construction projects as a matter of best practice project management,” she said.
“I understand there were other major problems such as lengthy delays in arranging for the relocation of power and telephone services.
“The community rightly expects to see these works progressing to schedule.
“Yet so far, Victorian Roads Minister Luke Donnellan has been missing in action.”
Ms Henderson said she was “deeply concerned” about the extra delays to the project between Waurn Ponds and Winchelsea.
“This is frankly not good enough,” she said.
“For many months, the State Government and its agency, VicRoads, guaranteed that the 23km road project would be completed by June of this year.
“In fact, just last month I was told by VicRoads that the official opening of the road would occur on 29 May.
“Now we’re told the duplication will not be completed until the spring.
“It is clear that the Victorian Government is not adequately managing this $171m project to which the Federal Government is contributing half the cost.
“This is such an important project for jobs, investment, tourism and road safety. Local residents, business operators and commuters need comprehensive answers as to the ongoing delays with this major infrastructure project.
“That’s why I am calling for a review into the way this project has been managed. I call on the Victorian Government to disclose to the community the full reasons behind these delays and what action is being taken to ensure the next stage of the Princes Hwy duplication will be better-managed.”
