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Baw Baw Council reports on road maintenance results for 2020/2021

Council reports on visible improvements with fast response on road works across the Shire.

By news@gippsland - 1st June 2021 - Back to News

Baw Baw Shire residents have experienced faster response times to road maintenance requests since Council’s new Road Maintenance Contract was put in place almost a year ago. Council noted a progress report on key road maintenance activities at its meeting on Wednesday 26 May.

Community can track the the current and upcoming roadworks on the interactive dashboard of the council website

Proactive approach

Council’s $8 million per annum contract with DM Roads to deliver road maintenance works across the Shire for a five-year period commenced in July 2020. The new contract takes a proactive approach to programming works, inspecting roads and scheduling repairs. The increased funding has allowed a higher level of service and ongoing maintenance works to improve the experiences of all road users.

Since July 2020, DM Roads has received 1999 customer requests, with an average response time of 1.56 business days. Of these requests, 532 were for unsealed roads and a 490 were for sealed roads, with a further 265 call outs to remove fallen trees from roads.

Knowing the progress

Residents can also track the progress of maintenance works across the Shire at the current and upcoming road works. The dashboard will be expanded to include other programmed works once consistent timeframes are established.

Achieving changes and improvements

Mayor Cr Danny Goss said, "The new road network contract has brought significant reforms to how our roads are maintained, taking a proactive approach to monitoring conditions while responding to the needs of our community. Although this is still early days in this long-term contact, it’s pleasing to see the changes that have occurred and the improvements that will be achieved over the coming years."

Results supported by details

Deputy Mayor Cr Michael Leaney said, "This report shows that we have delivered on what we were asked to do by the community. Several years ago, the Shire was inundated with concerns from residents about problems with their roads."

"We’ve doubled our investment in road maintenance and it’s showing in these results from the first nine months. Over 6000 different tasks have been completed in this time and this is a significant result, supported by detailed reporting on the progress of all aspects of road maintenance."

Identifying issues to positive changes

West Ward Cr Ben Lucas said, "You don’t need to read a report to know the difference in our road network since the introduction of the contract. Most of our requests for maintenance relate to unsealed roads, which suggests the need to continue focusing on sealing roads when funding allows. I commend the contractor for their responsive approach to identifying issues and continuing to make positive changes to our roads."

East Ward Cr Darren Wallace said, "This progress update demonstrates how we’ve moved from reactive to proactive maintenance on our road network, with noticeable differences in the level of service provided to our community and a faster response time to requests. It’s particularly heartening to see the ongoing road grading and drain clearing works that have taken place in the more remote areas of our Shire."

Meeting shire’s needs

East Ward Cr Peter Kostos said, "It’s very useful to review the insights from data that’s been gathered from the almost 2000 customer requests that have been received since DM Roads took on the new Road Maintenance Contract. These results indicate that the increased investment in road maintenance is beginning to make a difference and I look forward to seeing this continue."

West Ward Cr Annemarie McCabe said, "DM Roads has demonstrated a customer-focused approach that is timely and positive for all road users. While still early days, the Road Maintenance Contract appears to be meeting the needs of our Shire. I encourage our community to continue to let Council know of any maintenance concerns so they can be addressed."

More information about Council’s investment in road maintenance can be found at road works.

Pictures from Baw Baw Shire Council Facebook page.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com