Locals are voicing concerns surrounding the safety of the Maroondah Highway between Lilydale and Healesville.
These perturbations have arisen especially after recent works on the highway have been left unfinished and, according to locals, were completed to a low standard.
Former road construction contractor and Yarra Ranges local Greg flagged the road’s issues to the Star Mail.
“The road just really isn’t safe,” Greg said.
“The poor quality of work that’s being done by private contractors is the issue. Everything has been privatised and is contracted out to the cheapest person, and you end up with subpar work that is dangerous,” he said.
Greg first reported wear and tear issues on the road to Roads Victoria twelve months ago.
“It was gradually degrading, because the previous works weren’t completed properly, and then they came and marked it, and then they re-laid it at some point,” Greg said.
After calling VicRoads again last week, the branch informed him that someone had gone out to inspect the road.
Greg said, “I think they are going to do some sort of redress work, but they recently fixed the lines, which look like they have been painted by hand. That is how badly laid the road is”.
“The lines are all over the place.”
“Last Wednesday, I drove that way again, and the car was moving around all over the place. The surface joints were terrible; it was not really safe at all,” he said.
According to Greg, the problematic section of road stretches from Chandon past Cherry Tree Hill Orchards. two to three kilometres of road with patches here and there, some short sections, some longer sections on both lanes.
“I have worked in construction for fifteen years through rail, level crossing removals, et cetera, and we are held to a really high standard,” Greg said.
“It is very frustrating coming from a construction side of things when we’re held to such a high standard for the rail projects, to see that other contractors and parts of state infrastructure are not,” he said.
“VicRoads engineers are signing off on things that shouldn’t be signed off on.”
“They should be holding their contractors to a higher standard, because after all, it’s their taxpayer dollars, and quality should be the driver, not profit.”
Having lived in the Yarra Ranges for 50 years, Greg has seen a change in local maintenance standards.
“You can see the difference from when we were kids to now. There never used to be weeds that were spread through the shire and up into the national parks,” Greg said.
“Now, because it’s all privatised and the contractors are doing the bare minimum for maximum profit, the weeds are going to seed, and the seeds are spreading everywhere, and it just compounds the problem,” he said.
Having lived overseas, Greg also noticed the difference between private and public maintenance.
“You can see the difference between local municipalities still having control over everything else, rather than offloading it to the private sector,” Greg said.
“Coming back home and seeing how there’s not a lot of pride in things. It’s very, very frustrating.”
“I want the focus to be on a good outcome for the community.”
Regarding future works on the Maroondah Highway, a spokesperson from the Department of Transport and Planning said, “Crews have undertaken initial works along the Maroondah Highway, and will return in March to complete the next stage.”
“Right now, we’re undertaking a record-breaking road maintenance blitz to rebuild, repair, and resurface roads right across the state to get drivers home sooner and safer,” they said.
According to the Department, preparation is an important part of the road maintenance process and ensures that road surfaces are ready for the next stage of works.
The spokesperson said, “These works will improve the road surface and ensure a smoother journey for the drivers who rely on the road every day.”
“Crews are out on roads across the state right now, delivering the 2025/26 Better Roads Blitz – a record $976 million investment towards maintaining Victoria’s road network,” they said.
