ONE OF the features of a $976 million ‘Better Roads Blitz’ in Tuesday’s State Budget, to fix potholes and upgrade road surfaces across Victoria, will be a $50 million maintenance program on the San Remo-Phillip Island Bridge.
The huge maintenance program follows extensive assessment of the condition of the bridge in late 2024 after concerns were raised about cracking, rust-staining, or spalling of the concrete covering of the bridges steel structure.
At the time, the department said the assessment of the bridge’s condition would take several months, conducted while Westernport Water was undertaking its Pipeline Bracket Renewal project.
“Specialised crews will inspect the surface, sides and underneath of the bridge with minimal disruption to traffic, and expert divers will also be used for underwater structural inspections.”
The report is in, and the necessary works have been funded immediately.
In its statement about the impending announcement in the budget, the Government said it was allocating $50 million “to undertake important maintenance work on San Remo Bridge, the link to Phillip Island, which ensures residents and the 3.5 million tourists who visit the island each year can get there safer and sooner.”
“Safer and Sooner,” they say, but no details were provided to support the claims that visitors and locals will be able to get their “sooner”.
When the new San Remo Bridge was built by contractors John Holland and opened in November 1969, it featured the traditional construction method of reinforced concrete.
Normally, covering the steel structure of a bridge with concrete will reduce the rate of corrosion of the steel, even in a harsh coastal setting, to a very low, even negligible level.
However, circumstances do arise in which corrosion of reinforcement occurs. Since rust has a larger volume than the steel from which it is formed, tensile forces occur and the result can be cracking, rust-staining, or even spalling of the concrete cover, that is cracks below the surface which can cause slabs of material to “spall” off.
No details have been provided about the work that needs to be undertaken or the possible load limits, delays and closures that might occur during the process.
When Westernport Water was undertaking its works, there was a 42.5 tonne limit from July 1, 2024 until late September 2024 during which time B-double semis and other high tonnage trucks were not allowed to cross the bridge causing issues for the agricultural sector, construction and others.
Those arrangements are yet to be revealed by the government.
As part of its Better Roads Blitz the government said it was building on what it claimed was “Victoria’s biggest single-year investment in road maintenance ever” by announcing an even bigger single-year investment in road maintenance.
The government said the road maintenance package would deliver:
• The rebuild, repair and resurfacing of arterial roads right across the state, including pothole repair
• Maintenance of vital transport infrastructure such as bridges and traffic lights so they are in good condition
• Emergency road works in response to callouts form the community
• The mowing, slashing and spraying of grass and weeds along roadsides
• The repair or replacement of thousands of signs
“As part of last year’s record investment into fixing roads, more than 70 per cent of funding was directed to regional Victoria, delivering important maintenance work in every corner of the state,” said the government in its pre-budget road funding statement.
“Thanks to this investment, more than 183,669 on-road jobs were completed, including major rehabilitation projects, resurfacing projects and pothole repairs. Some 11,000 signs were repaired, and 13,000 signs replaced.”
The also government re-announced some of the projects undertaken via last year’s funding, among them these projects that have either been completed or are underway:
• In Woodend, crews are almost finished rebuilding a 2.2-kilometre section of Tylden-Woodend Road between Caddys Lane and Maxwell Street
• Rehabilitation works on Mortlake-Ararat Road and the Glenelg Highway are underway and scheduled for completion at the end of May
• Rehabilitation works on Princes Hwy West at Conns Lane are progressing, with completion expected in early June
• Pavement rehabilitation is complete on the Hume Freeway at Beveridge, Monaro Highway (East Gippsland) and Koo Wee Rup – Longwarry Road (Longwarry), providing drivers with stronger, smoother roads
• Pavement rehabilitation works on South Gippsland Highway at Stony Creek are progressing well, with completion scheduled for July, weather permitting
• The rehabilitation project on the Midland Highway at Blampied is complete • Rehabilitation works on Birchip-Warracknabeal Road are complete
• Patching works on Bendigo-Pyramid Road and McIvor Highway are complete
“We’re focused on what matters most – getting regional families home safer and sooner with our Better Roads Blitz,” said the Premier Jacinta Allan.
Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Melissa Horne, stressed the importance of road maintenance work.
“Victoria’s road network connects Victorians to family, school and jobs, and moves millions of tonnes of goods and supplies around the state,” said Minister Horne.
“We delivered record roads funding last year and this Budget will deliver even more – making our roads more resilient.”