Roads: French Island
16-April-2010
The state of the French Island road network has deteriorated to such a degree that it poses a significant safety concern for local residents. The continuing deterioration of the roads causes disruption to movement, inconvenience to residents and damage to vehicles. The heavy corrugation of many of the island's gravel roads is making transportation increasingly difficult and means that four-wheel drives are often the only practical means of transport.
I have been informed by long-term residents of the island that the current state of the roads is the worst they have seen in 20 years. When I inspected the roads with French Island resident and local road expert Tom Neesham recently we witnessed locals opting to drive on the sides of the roads because the roads themselves were in such bad condition.
The frustration at the condition of the roads has reached a point where local residents are suggesting that if the equipment was provided, they would carry out the grading themselves. It is unacceptable that a community that does so much for itself should have to beg and wait for the provision of the most basic infrastructure -- roads that are safe and usable.
There are also safety concerns regarding the condition of the Coast Road bridge. Twelve months ago a Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) maintenance report on the bridge indicated that it was unsafe to carry heavy traffic. This situation has created a great deal of difficulty for residents on the island. Coast Road is the main road on the island and is only accessible via the Coast Road bridge. Additionally, water and fuel can only be delivered on trucks that are considered heavy traffic. Residents are still waiting for DSE to undertake maintenance work that will render the bridge safe again and allow the unhindered distribution of fuel and water to residents.
I invite the Minister for Roads and Ports to visit French Island with me in the near future, inspect the roads and bridge and then meet with the French Island Community Association with a view to arranging a more frequent or longer lasting road maintenance regime and bridge repair.